Breaking Up is Hard to Do
by Kurt Kieser
Summary: What? Akira and Takumi, splitting up? Say it ain't so! Of course, after over three years of dating, you knew there were bound to be a few bumps in the ol' relationship road. But this isn't a bump, it's a pothole! Ooo, who's the cute new girl, Takumi?
1. Secrets and Lies

**Breaking Up is Hard to Do**

**Chapter 1 - Secrets and Lies**

Far from the safe confines of Fuka Academy, and several blocks off the beaten path of the city's downtown vicinity, there exists another well-known area that is typically not discussed openly among the local population. Still, like clockwork, the Akasen region, or red-light district, would always start to come alive around nightfall. Though nowhere near the grand scale of Shinjuku's landmark Kabukicho region, one could still find a vast proliferation of strip clubs, sex shops, adult theaters, pachinko parlors, host and hostess clubs, and of course, the ubiquitous love hotel. Prostitution unquestionably thrived in these surroundings, and clearly, wherever such lucrative ventures could be found, the presence of Japan's infamous yakuza was assured, controlling a vast number of these insalubrious enterprises.

Regardless of all these illicit operations, the majority of the general population refused to be deterred, merely wishing to escape from their mundane lives and indulge themselves in a night of pure enjoyment. And after all, plenty of fun could still be had without engaging in any shady or illegal activities. The music scene was one such area, as evidenced by the numerous hip and trendy nightclubs that dotted the area. Rich, deep bass sounds could be heard emanating from one such club.

Appearing rather ramshackle from the outside, that look also seemed to carry over to the inside as one began to descend the stairs leading into the basement. It was definitely a bit on the grungy side, the peeling of paint being only one of many indicators. Yet its patrons did not frequent the place for its décor, they were there to be blown away by the rousing sounds of music. Ranging from classic and alternative rock to heavy metal, punk, and even rap, an eclectic mix could be heard from various indie bands that performed in the small, but unpretentious, establishment.

"You were definitely right about these guys, Takumi," a short, blonde-haired teen acknowledged, forced to shout at the top of his lungs just so his friend could hear him. "These guys definitely rock!"

"Told you!" Takumi cried out.

Bobbing their heads in time with the music, the two, along with the over three hundred other teenagers and young adults in attendance, found themselves deeply immersed in the rich sounds of the band Dying Breed, who were presently finishing up their last set.

Applauding wildly at the close of their last number, the crowd continued to go wild even as the group unplugged their instruments and departed the stage. Several spectators even began calling out for an encore, which they did not receive, much to their dismay.

"That was awesome!" Takumi's friend commented. "We should come here more often."

"I know, only, I just wish that I wouldn't have to sneak around to do it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how overprotective Akira can be at times?"

"Yeah."

"Well she would positively freak out if she knew that I came to a place like this, especially considering the location."

"Oh come on, Takumi, I think you're exaggerating. I mean, you're practically seventeen now. I'm sure she wouldn't have a problem with it."

"You don't know Akira very well," he emphasized. "Look, Hajime, you've got to promise me that you won't tell Akira that we came here tonight. She thinks that I'm with you in your dorm room studying right now."

"You mean you lied to her?" Hajime was surprised to hear. "Wow, that's not like you at all, Takumi."

"I know, I know, and I hate myself for doing it, but I can never seem to have any fun otherwise."

"Man, that's rough."

"So just don't tell her, alright?"

"Okay, but then you have to promise not to tell Kyoko."

"Oh? Then you lied about where you were going too?"

"Not exactly. I just never told her what I was going to be doing this evening. But I'm sure that if she knew she would probably be upset with me."

"Man, you guys are pathetic!" a tall, goatee sporting teen commented from behind, having clearly overheard the two.

"Yoshida-sempai?" Takumi responded, turning around and immediately recognizing the scruffy-haired, third-year senior high student.

"Your girlfriends must really have you guys on a tight leash if you have to sneak around behind their backs just so you can have a little fun."

"Uh, no, it… it isn't like that," Hajime uneasily tried to explain.

"Hahaha. Relax, pal, I won't say anything to Kyoko-san," he assured him.

"How, how did you know that Kyoko was…"

"What, your girlfriend? We're in the same class together."

"Oh."

"And I gotta tell ya," Yoshida began, slyly jabbing Hajime in the side with his elbow and crudely remarking, "she is one hot smokin' mama. Way to go, my man! I can tell that you definitely like your ladies a tad older and more… experienced, if you know what I mean."

"Uhhh…."

"So tell me," the crass teen insisted on knowing as he leaned in closer to Hajime's ear, clearly reeking of alcohol, "how is she?"

"Huh?"

"You know what I'm talkin' about. Come on, man, don't keep me hangin'. She the kinda chick that 'puts out' and…"

"Uh, so, Yoshida-sempai," Takumi quickly interrupted, trying to change the subject as he could tell that it was making his friend quite uncomfortable, "you ever hear

Dying Breed's extended version of "My World Down" that they performed at the Greatful Sound festival? That cool bass riff halfway through really blew me away."

"Dude, I have the bootleg of that at home. It was totally righteous!" Yoshida was quick to agree, seeming impressed at Takumi's knowledge of the band. "Say, Tokiha-san, how come I ain't never seen you here before? You obviously have excellent taste in music. Oh wait, that's right, your girlfriend has you whipped."

"What? No, I…"

"Seriously, dude, I'd dump her sorry ass if she ever tries to tell you what you can and can't do. Course I can understand how difficult that might be if she's as hot a babe as Kyoko-san. Say, you still seeing that ninja chick?"

"Uh, yeah," Takumi responded a bit uneasily.

"So how long you two been going together?"

"Uh, a little over three years now."

"Damn! She must really do it for ya if you've been with her that long. And being a ninja, she must really like it rough. Am I right?"

Becoming extremely annoyed by all of his prying and blunt sexual inferences, Takumi was finally forced to remark, "Look, whether we 'do it' is totally irrelevant, and frankly, none of your damn business! My relationship with Akira is strictly…"

"Akira? Oh, snap! I just remembered," Yoshida suddenly realized. "She's the chick that used to dress up as a dude."

"Now look, I just told you that our relationship is none of your busin…"

"Oh man, no wonder you're not getting any. Dude, take my advice and dump the bitch, otherwise…"

"What did you just call her?" a now incensed Takumi questioned as he began clenching his fists.

"Hey, don't blame me. I can't help it if she's a…"

"Take it back!" Takumi demanded.

"What?"

"I said, TAKE IT BACK!" Takumi now firmly insisted, prompting him to abruptly grab a hold of Yoshida's shirt collar.

"Big mistake, pal."

"Onii-chan!" a female voice sternly cried out.

Spying her brother from across the room, a dark-haired girl all decked out in black, gothic-lolita attire now began to approach the three. Accompanying her was another girl who had a well-proportioned slim figure, and, unlike her friend, appeared to have a gentle grace about her and was dressed much more conservatively.

"Murata-sempai," a relieved Hajime greeted the third-year student, concerned for his friend's safety. "How are you?"

"Oh, hey, Moriyama-san," the goth girl quickly acknowledged before turning her attention onto Takumi. "Well, Takumi-san, I never expected to see you in a place like this."

"Yumi-san," Takumi was surprised to see, prompting him to release Yoshida from his grip.

Walking up to her brother and observing his bloodshot eyes, she admonished, "Onii-chan, you're drunk! You better not be causing trouble for these two."

"Aww, back off, Yumi," her brother warned. "Besides, he's the one who started it. I was just trying to get him to come to grips with the fact that his girlfriend is a dyke."

"Why you…" came the angry response as the fist of an enraged Takumi now began to retaliate.

"No, Takumi, don't!" Hajime implored, grabbing a hold of his friend's arm.

"Hahahaha!" Yoshida laughed and then taunted, "You wanna hit me? Huh? Come on, I dare ya!"  
Glancing over at Hajime who was shaking his head and trying to dissuade him, Takumi finally regained his cool and lowered his arm, realizing that it wasn't worth it.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Yoshida said with disdain.

Yet the moment Takumi began to turn his back, Yoshida stepped in and took a swipe at him, landing a hard right punch to the left side of Takumi's face.

"ONII-CHAN!" his sister harshly denounced. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Still conscious, but now badly shaken up, Takumi's initial reaction was one of surprise as he expected to be feeling the cold hard surface of the concrete floor at this point, considering that his body had been propelled backwards by the force of the blow. Instead, he felt rather relieved that something had come between him to cushion his fall. Reaching a hand up to feel his now rapidly swelling cheek, Takumi then came to the realization that someone else was supporting his body, feeling the softness and warmth of another person's arms.

"Are you okay?" a concerned voice asked.

Slowly tilting his head back, Takumi suddenly found himself gazing up into the shimmering brown eyes of the attractive young girl that had accompanied Yumi. With her long, silky blond hair cascading down to her shoulders, Takumi now became momentarily transfixed upon her kind-hearted expression. Suddenly he came to the realization of the awkward position that he was in, his back still resting up against the front of her body.

Leaping forward a few feet and then turning to face her, Takumi now became red from embarrassment as he quickly apologized, "Uh s… sorry. I didn't mean to… I mean… I hope I didn't hurt you."

"It's okay," she giggled, seeming genuinely amused by his shy and innocent reaction.

"Takumi, are you all right?" a concerned Hajime inquired.

"Huh?" was all the currently dumbstruck Takumi could manage to utter, seeming momentarily enchanted by the young girl's charm and beauty, practically causing him to forget the fact that he was in any pain.

"Takumi-san, I am so sorry," Yumi now came over and profusely apologized for her brother's behavior.

"Oh, ah, it's alright, really," Takumi managed to get out, finally coming out of his stupor. "Besides, I kind of provoked him when I grabbed him by the collar."

"Still, that's no excuse for his behavior," Yumi maintained. "I heard what he called Okuzaki-san and thought it was absolutely abhorrent. Drunk or sober, it's inexcusable. I actually wish that you had hit him, it would have served him right."

"Oh my, your cheek is really starting to swell up," Yumi's friend observed. "You really should put some ice on that."

"She's right," Yumi agreed, then added, "Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced you yet. This is my cousin Hiromi Misawa. Hiromi, this is Takumi Tokiha and his friend Hajime Moriyama; they're both second-year senior high students at Fuka Academy."

"Pleased to meet you," Hiromi greeted.

"Hiromi just moved here," Yumi explained. "I just helped her get moved in to her dorm room this afternoon and wanted to show her a good time tonight. Unfortunately, when my stupid brother found out where we were going, he insisted on tagging along."

Noticing Takumi wince as he attempted to smile, Hajime offered, "I'll go see if I can get some ice from the bar for you."

"Thanks," Takumi replied, turning then to Hiromi, "So Misawa-sempai, I take it then that you'll you be attending Fuka Academy?"

"That's right. In fact, I start on Monday," Hiromi informed him. Then giggling somewhat, she corrected, "But I'm not your sempai. I'll actually be in the same grade as you and Moriyama-san."

"Oh, well that's cool. Anyway, I'm sure you'll really like it there and make a lot of new friends."

"I'm sure I will, especially if they're all as sweet as you are."

"Uhh…" Takumi blushed.

"Hiromi, you're embarrassing him," Yumi warned, but then offered, "Of course, as I recall, it didn't take much to activate those rosy cheeks of his."

"Really?" Hiromi was intrigued to hear. "So how do you two know each other exactly?"

"Oh, ah, two years ago Yumi-san used to be in the cooking club with me," Takumi informed her.

"That's right. And since he was the only guy in the entire club, us girls used to tease him about it and would sometimes sneak up and hug him from behind to see who could make him blush the reddest."

"Oh, Yumi, that's terrible."

"Yes, but I caught onto them," Takumi then recalled. "Flour, you see, makes a great concealer. Fight fire with fire, I always say. Or in this case, flour."

Weak as it may have been, Hiromi couldn't help but to smile at his little joke.

"Here you go, Takumi," Hajime said, now returning as he handed him an ice-filled plastic cup.

"Thanks, Hajime," Takumi replied, placing the cold cup up against his cheek.

"Oh that won't do," Hiromi contended, observing how the cup only covered a small fraction of his cheek. "Here, let me have that."

"Uh, okay."

Pulling out a large handkerchief, Hiromi proceeded to pour the ice into the center of it, tying the four corners of it together afterwards and forming a makeshift icepack.

"Here you go, this should work much better."

"Thanks, Misawa-san," a grateful Takumi replied, placing the ice-filled handkerchief upon the swollen half of his face.

"You're quite welcome. And please, call me Hiromi."

"Uh, s… sure, okay," Takumi nervously responded, then reciprocated, "And uh, you can call me, Takumi."

"Um, Takumi?" Hajime tried to get his somewhat smitten friend's attention. "I really think we need to go."

"Oh, ah, right."

"And for your sake," Hajime stressed, "I sure hope that swelling goes down by Monday. If Akira were to find out that you got into a fight, she'll go ballistic and send you into orbit."

"Oh, Hajime, don't exaggerate. I'm sure it'll be…" Takumi then paused as he noticed Hiromi covering her mouth, trying to contain her laughter. "What's so funny?"

"I… I'm sorry, Takumi-san," Hiromi chuckled, "but when Moriyama-san mentioned your girlfriend sending you into orbit, a mental picture just popped into my head. It's silly I know, and maybe it's because I just re-watched the anime, but the whole thing reminded me of all those times when Naru socks Keitaro and sends him flying in the anime…"

"Love Hina!" Takumi enthusiastically responded.

"Oh, you've seen it?"

"I love that anime! That, and Ken Akamatsu's other series, 'Negima'."

"Really? Me too!"

"No kidding," Takumi was surprised to hear. "Akira hates those kinds of anime, you know, where the guy somehow manages to end up with an entire harem of cute girls."

"Not me. I don't mind them at all. In fact, I get a big kick out of them."

"Wow. You know, I think you're the first girl I've met who actually likes…"

"Uh, Takumi," Hajime tried to re-emphasize by pointing to his watch.

"Oh, right, sorry," he apologized to his friend. Then re-addressing Hiromi he added, "Well, I really need to go. But I guess I'll see in school on Monday."

"I look forward to that," Hiromi eagerly replied. Then sounding a bit more concerned she asked, "So are you sure that you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Although…" Takumi began to assure her, but then removed the icepack and began to feel around the inside of his mouth with his tongue. "Hmm, I don't think I'm missing any but… wait… oh, sorry, false alarm. Yup, they're all there."

"Oh, Takumi-san, you're so silly," Hiromi chuckled, amused by his charming wit and innocent smile, prompting Hajime to simply roll his eyes at their seemingly nauseating display of affection.

"Bye, Takumi-san," Yumi bid him. "And sorry again about my idiotic brother."

"See you all on Monday," Takumi replied as he started to leave, but then stopped suddenly and looked to Hiromi as he recalled, "Oh, and I'll make sure and return your handkerchief to you then as well."

"Don't worry about it," Hiromi reassured him. "But if you'd like, you could just drop it off at my dorm room whenever you'd like. I'm in room 531."

"Takumi, let's go!" Hajime implored, trying to prod his now speechless friend along by tugging on his arm.

"Uh, right, coming," he finally responded as the two then departed and headed back up the stairs.

Yumi, meanwhile, just looked at her cousin in amazement, prompting her to remark, "Hiromi, I can't believe you!"

"What?"

"Don't what me. You were flirting with him!"

"Oh? Was I?"

"Need I remind you that he already has a girlfriend."

"Yeah I know, but he was just so cute and charming that I guess I kind of forgot about that. Sorry."

"Believe me, a lot of girls are attracted to him, but he seems to have devoted himself to one particular girl and has been seeing her for the past three years now."

"Wow, that is devotion," Hiromi was surprised to hear.

Now exiting the premises, Hajime stopped his friend along the sidewalk and demanded to know, "Okay, what the hell was that back there?"

"Wha… what are you talking about?"

Clearing his throat, Hajime raised his voice an entire octave as he began to mock, "Oh, Takumi-san, you're so silly."

"So, can I help it if she thinks I'm witty."

"She was totally coming on to you, man! And you weren't exactly helping matters," he insisted, as he then began to mock in a bit of a lower tone, "Oh, I don't think I'm missing any… wait… yup, they're all there. Give me a break!"

"Look, I wasn't trying to flirt with her if that's what you're getting at. I was just making small talk."

"Small talk, huh? You practically blew Akira off when you found out that she had the same taste in anime as you do."

"No I didn't. I was just trying to…"

"And then to top it all off, by blatantly giving out her room number like that, she was practically begging for you to come up to her dorm room."

"Well I have no intention of doing that!" he defensively shot back. "I would never…"

"Hey, calm down. I know you wouldn't," his friend tried to reassure him. "Look, I don't mean to give you a hard time, but you and Akira have been together for so long that I'd hate to see anything come between that relationship."

"Don't worry, nothing's going to," Takumi confidently stated.

"Listen, I'm sorry that I interfered back there. I should have just let you slug that jerk in the mouth instead of trying to stop you."

"Oh, don't worry about it, really. I'm actually kind of glad that you did stop me. I've never really been a violent person and I don't wish to start now."

"You know, now that I think about it," Hajime noted, "In all the years that I've known you, I've never once seen you lose your temper like that, let alone grab a hold of someone."

"That's because I haven't."

"Exactly. So for someone to get you all riled up like that, you've got to feel really passionate about something, or in this case, someone. Very passionate, indeed."

Observing the sympathetic smile that his friend was now giving him, Takumi gave pause and then reciprocated the gesture, adding, "You're definitely right about that, my friend."

"So what are you going to do now, about Akira I mean? You gonna tell her what happened?"

Sighing heavily, Takumi reluctantly replied, "Yeah, I have to. I can't lie to her."

"Well, you're a braver man than I am, Takumi," Hajime professed.

Now stepping out and coming around to face his friend directly, Hajime curiously began examining Takumi's face.

"What's the matter, is my face starting to swell up some more?"

"No, no, I'm just trying to imagine what you're going to look like come Monday after Akira gives you a matching bruise."

* * *

Finally arriving back at his dorm room, a now exhausted Takumi headed over to the kitchen sink and carefully began undoing the knot in Hiromi's handkerchief. Emptying what was left of the ice into the sink, he carefully wrung out the excess water and gently laid the finely embroidered cotton material along his dish rack so that it could dry overnight. Too tired, he promised himself that he would properly wash it tomorrow.

After getting some fresh ice out of the freezer and placing it in a zip-top bag, Takumi proceeded to press it up against his left cheek, wincing in pain when it first made contact with his skin.

Removing his shirt as he started to get changed and ready for bed, Takumi walked into his bathroom where he now got a first hand look at the results of his actions this evening. Temporarily setting the icepack down in the sink, he took a long hard look at the now very swollen, as well as black and blue bruise, on his left cheek.

"Damn!" he cursed himself. "Akira's gonna kill me."

* * *

Early the following morning, as he finished hand washing Hiromi's handkerchief in his bathroom sink, Takumi couldn't help but to glance up into his mirror from time to time, somehow hoping that the normal color in his cheek would miraculously return. Somewhat worried and still uncertain how he was going to explain this to Akira, he even began to contemplate staying home from school the following day just so that he could avoid having her see him like this, and also to give his bruise some more time to heal. He was naturally a bit jumpy and reacted accordingly when he heard his telephone ring. Quickly wringing out the excess water from the handkerchief and then hanging it on the shower rod to dry, Takumi then apprehensively proceeded to answer the phone.

"H… hello?"

"Morning, Takumi, how's it going?" came the familiar voice that he ordinarily cherished hearing, only to be dreading it at this moment.

"Oh, ah, hey, Akira."

"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to have lunch somewhere before the movie starts or would you rather wait until after it's over to eat?"

"Movie?" Takumi attempted to recall before suddenly realizing, "Oh no, that was today?"

"What, don't tell me you forgot?"

"N… not exactly, I just had other things on my mind and…"

"Takumi, are you feeling all right? Your voice sounds a little funny," Akira commented, recognizing the slight change in his speech that was obviously due to the swelling.

Not knowing how to respond, Takumi in a panic simply blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Uh, actually, I have been feeling a bit light-headed since last night. I think I may be coming down with something. There must be a bug going around."

"Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that," Akira sympathized. "Obviously the movie's off then, so why don't I just come on over and…"

"No! Don't do that!" Takumi anxiously shot back.

"Why not?"

"It's just… I'm sure that I'm probably contagious and I don't want to have you get sick too."

"Don't be ridiculous. Contagious or not, do you know how many times you've sat with me when I've been sick? Look, you just lay back and get some rest and I'll take care of you. I'm just gonna run to the market to get a few things and then I'll be over to make you some lunch."

"Uh, really, Akira, that's not…"

"See you in a little while."

"…necessary," he trailed off, hearing the click on the other end of the line. "Crap! Now what am I going to do?"

* * *

"Takumi?" Akira's voice could be heard from the opposite side of his door, accompanied by a gentle knock.

"It's open, Akira," Takumi called to her.

Carrying a bag of groceries, Akira first went over to his kitchen and set them down on the counter. As she then came out to check up on him, she noticed him sitting at his dining table, his head covered by a towel, and hunched over a vaporizer.

"So, uh, how are you feeling?" she asked with concern, now standing alongside him as the steam from the vaporizer wafted up past her.

"Okay, I guess," he replied from under the towel. "The steam really helps though."

"Oh, well that's good. Listen, I'm going to make you some soup. You think you can eat anything right now?"

"Uh, yeah, I think I can manage. But honestly, you really don't have to."

"Look, I already told you, so I don't want to hear another word about it."

"Okay," he finally relented.

"Alright then. Now I'm just going to use your bathroom first and then I'll get started. You just relax and keep your head under that thing and leave everything to me."

"Thank you, Akira."

Before he could even inhale his next breath of steam, Takumi's head suddenly shot up in panic, realizing that Hiromi's handkerchief was still hanging on his shower rod. Poking his head out from under the towel, he discreetly observed as Akira came back out and headed over toward the kitchen. Figuring that since she hadn't immediately questioned him about it, she must not have noticed it, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Akira began to empty a can of soup into a saucepan and proceeded to heat it up. After also putting a kettle of water on the stove to prepare some tea, she then decided to throw some rice in the rice cooker and make some onigiri so that he would have something to eat later on if he got hungry.

Within a few minutes she decided to check up on him, only to notice that he was now gone, the steam still rising though from the vaporizer.

"Takumi, are you okay?" she now came over and called to him from outside the closed door of his bedroom.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just getting changed."

"Okay, well, the soup's almost ready."

"Thanks. Be out in a minute."

When he re-emerged from the bedroom, Takumi now sported a hooded sweatshirt, its drawstrings tautly pulled so that the hood obscured the vast majority of his face, leaving only a small portion of his bruise that wasn't concealed.

As he sat down to eat, he was still careful to keep his face turned slightly to the left so that she wouldn't notice it. Seated on the opposite side of the table, Akira began to look a bit peculiarly at him.

"Takumi, how can you wear that thing? Are you that cold?"

"Uh, actually, I just started feeling a bit chilly after finishing with the vaporizer. I think I may be running a fever."

"Well that's not good," she worriedly remarked, then observed, "Although, you seem to be sweating quite a bit. Maybe you should at least remove the hood."

"Ah, no, it ah… it's fine, really. Anyway, I just wanted to say that this soup is delicious. Thank you, Akira," he complimented, hoping that his praise would avert any suspicion that she might be having.

"Uh, thanks, but it's just canned soup."

"Oh, well regardless, it's still very good."

For someone who usually makes soup from scratch, even she knew that it was kind of an unusual comment for him to make. Her suspicions became even more aroused when she began to notice that he seemed to be avoiding making direct eye contact with her, always keeping his head turned to one side.

"Takumi, what's wrong? You've been avoiding looking at me this whole time."

"Have I? I uh, didn't realize I was doing that. Sorry."

Frustrated, Akira now got up and walked over to him. Yanking the hood off of his head, she gasped in horror at what she now saw.

"Takumi, wha… what on earth happened to you?"

Realizing that he could no longer hide it, Takumi sighed heavily and confessed, "Alright look, I kind of got into a little scuffle last night, so please try not to make a big deal out of this. It's just a little bruise."

"Little? I wouldn't exactly call that bruise little. Wait, you said you were studying with Hajime last night. Don't tell me that you got into a fight with him?"

"No, no, nothing like that."

"Well then what? Takumi, please, tell me what happened."

"Uh, you see I, that is, me and Hajime, we weren't exactly studying, per se."

"Oh? Well then what were you doing?"

"We were… uh, that is to say, we kind of went out to a nightclub. So in a way I guess you could say that we were studying music. Ha, ha, ha… ha…" Takumi weakly laughed, his poor attempt at levity only met with disdain from Akira.

"So you went to a nightclub and wound up getting into a fight with someone," a not too amused Akira inquired.

"Look, I wanted to tell you, but I knew if told you that the nightclub was located in the Akasen district that you would probably…"

"AKASEN DISTRICT?"

"…freak out."

"Takumi, have you lost your mind? What were you thinking in going to such an area?"

"Now see, this is precisely why I didn't want to tell you. I knew you would get all bent of shape and try to prevent me from going."

"Gee, you think? Strip clubs and bars, drugs, prostitution… damn right I would have stopped you!"

"Oh come on, Akira," he argued, "it's not that big a deal. Besides, I didn't go there for any of that stuff, I went to hear some really cool bands play."

"But in the most crime-ridden part of town, of all places."

"Well I know it's not exactly a garden spot, but it's also not as bad as you make it out to be. Besides, there were other students there too."

"Yeah, third-year students probably."

"Yeah, so? Look, I'm seventeen now and…"

"Sixteen," Akira corrected. "Your birthday's still a month away."

"Whatever! The point is I think I'm old enough to decide where I can and can't go. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Oh yeah, you're doing a real bang up job of that," Akira sarcastically remarked, lightly poking at his bruise with her finger.

"Ow! Akira!" he said sounding rather annoyed. "And besides, I only got this because some guy was being a jerk by mouthing off about… look, I don't even want to talk about that, the point is…"

"The point is," she emphasized, "is that you lied to me, telling me that you were studying with Hajime."

"Well what choice did I have? I knew you weren't going to let me go."

"So you chose to lie about it? And then to make matters worse, you tried to cover up that lie with yet another one. What, you thought that by pretending that you were sick that you would somehow keep me from finding out about… this?"

Poking at his cheek yet again, this time with a little more force, Takumi became even more irritated as he yelled out, "OWW! Akira, cut it out!"

"Oh I'm sorry, did that hurt?" she taunted. "I don't see how it would. After all, you did say that it was just a little bruise. Oh wait, that was probably a lie too."

"Look, I'm sorry, but I didn't know what else to do. The fact is you didn't really give me much of a choice in the matter. I can never seem to go anywhere fun without you always…"

A knocking at his door then abruptly cut off his argument.

"Probably Hajime," Takumi thought as he went to answer it.

Taking a cursory glance through the door's peephole, Takumi just about did a double take when he saw who was on the opposite side.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Akira asked, thinking that he was acting even more strangely than before.

"Uh, it's no one important," Takumi nervously tried to cover up. "Just some student trying to sell magazine subscriptions.

"Takumi-kun?" a young girl's voice now came from behind the door, followed by another knock.

Apprehensively opening the door a crack and sticking his head out, a jittery Takumi then announced, "Uh, I'm really sorry but I'm not interested in buying anything right now. Maybe some other time."

Putting particular emphasis on his last sentence, Takumi then quickly closed the door and did a one-eighty, his back now fallen up against it as if to try and hold the door shut.

Appearing extremely guilty as though he were trying to hide something, Akira just stared suspiciously at him with her arms folded.

"Oh, Takumi-kun, you're such a kidder," the voice came again. "Come on, let me in."

"Yes, Takumi-kun, by all means," Akira mocked, observing his worried expression and now bulging eyes, "let the poor girl in."

As he slowly opened the door, the girl started to disclose, "You know I went through a lot of trouble trying to find out where you lived. I wish you had just told me last night at the same time I gave you my dorm room number. The truth is, and this may sound selfish, but I was secretly hoping that you might actually stop by and…"

The door now fully opened, the girl suddenly noticed Akira standing there with a rather cross look on her face.

"Oh, ah, I'm sorry," she apologetically offered, "I thought you were alone. Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, ah, it's okay, really," Takumi assured her, then awkwardly began to introduce, "Um, Akira, this is Hiromi. Hiromi, uhh…"

"Misawa," she reminded him.

"Oh, right. Sorry," he clumsily retorted. "Hiromi Misawa. And uh, Hiromi-san, this is Akira, Akira Okuzaki, my uh, girlfriend."

"That remains to be seen," Akira mumbled under her breath.

"Uh, it… it's a pleasure to meet you Okuzaki-san."

"Hmmm," was all that an extremely perturbed Akira could muster as she continued to scrutinize the girl.

"Uh, Hiromi just moved here," Takumi explained. "She's Yoshida and Yumi-sempai's cousin. I met her this evening at the nightclub. She'll be starting at Fuka Academy tomorrow."

"Well isn't that just wonderful," Akira cynically remarked.

"So uh, Okuzaki-san," Hiromi attempted to strike up a conversation, "I hear that you and Takumi-kun have been seeing each other for over three years now. Is that really true?"

"Well not that it's any of your business, but yes, it is true."

"Oh I just think that's so wonderful," Hiromi cheerfully proclaimed, "and I'm truly happy for the two of you. You're so lucky."

"Oh yeah, lucky," Akira sarcastically remarked. "Course if you consider being lied to and cheated on lucky, then I must be the luckiest girl in the world."

"Uhh… perhaps, perhaps I'd better go," Hiromi uncomfortably announced. "I've obviously come at a bad time. I'm sorry, I do hope that I haven't caused you any trouble."

"No, don't be silly. You've done nothing wrong," Takumi assured her, who then cast an accusatory glance over at Akira. "Besides, it's not you that's causing the trouble."

Witnessing the contemptuous facial expressions that the two were now giving each other, Hiromi uneasily offered, "Uh, I guess I'll, uh, see you in school tomorrow, Takumi-kun."

"Right. Well, goodbye, Hiromi-san," Takumi bid her. Then shooting a glance over at Akira he vengefully added, "In fact, I look forward to seeing you again."

Flashing him a smile upon hearing this, a very contented Hiromi then wished, "Take care of yourself and I hope you feel better. Uh, so long, Okuzaki-san."

"Humph!" Akira harshly turned her nose up at her.

Now closing the door behind him, Takumi then angrily turned to Akira and critically exclaimed, "Well that was rude! Could you possibly have made her feel any less welcome? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me? Oh, so now somehow this all my fault?" Akira defensively shot back. "First of all, I'm not the one trying cover my ass by lying about where I've been and getting into fights in places that I shouldn't have been at in the first place! And secondly, you're the one who started acting so suspiciously like you had something to hide when 'little miss sunshine' showed up. So don't go trying to turn this whole thing around and make it look like you're the victim in all of this. And considering that you supposedly just met, she sure seemed awfully chummy with you, Takumi-KUN. But then again, I shouldn't be surprised, considering where you met and the type of activity that goes on down there. I'm sure she's like that around every guy that she picks up."

"Oh now that is not fair, Akira! That is NOT FAIR!" an enraged Takumi vehemently declared. "You have no right to talk about her like that! You don't even know the first thing about her!"

"I know enough! In fact, I know that she told you her dorm room number. Like that's something that every girl gives out on her first encounter with a guy. So what else did she give you, Takumi?"

"What else did she… oh my god, nothing!" he defended, "Jeez, Akira, why do you always have to assume the worst in people? Okay, you wanna know why I lied about all of this and tried to hide it from you? It's because you always have this habit of blowing everything way out of proportion. If I wanna go somewhere, I always have to worry that it'll meet your approval first. It's gotten to the point where I'm actually afraid to even ask you anymore."

"Afraid?"

"Yes, afraid! Don't do this, don't do that," he mocked. "Or, it's not safe, Takumi, and, you might get hurt, Takumi. Well I'm sick of it! I'm tired of you telling me where I can and can't go, or for that matter, who I can hang out with!"

"What, and you think I enjoy doing that? I'm just as sick of it as you are! You always tend to just jump right into things, never thinking about the consequences. And it's always up to me to pick up the pieces whenever you screw up. It's like I'm always having to watch over you like a mamma hawk."

"Well who asked you to? I told you, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, so I don't need you babying me anymore."

"Is that really how you feel, Takumi? You don't need me anymore?"

"Look, I didn't say that. I just… I just want my freedom, that's all."

"Freedom, huh? Well I think that can be arranged," Akira said as she stormed off, heading into his bathroom. Re-emerging a few seconds later, she proceeded to fling Hiromi's handkerchief at him, which she had just retrieved. "Here! You forgot to give her this!"

"Huh?"

"So feel FREE to give it to her!"

"Uh, how did you…"

"The initials, Takumi, the initials," she pointed out, noting the embroidery. "I'm not blind you know. I can see what's going on."

"Going on? But there's nothing going on!" he insisted. "She just loaned that to me last night after I…"

"You know what, I really don't care anymore," she now weakly replied. "In fact, I just can't take anything you say seriously anymore. You said that you were studying with Hajime last night. That was a lie. You told me you weren't feeling well. That was a lie. And like a fool I fell for your little deception and even felt sorry for you, thinking that you were ill, only to discover that you were covering up for the fact that you had gotten into a fight. And now you tell me that there's nothing going on between you and this girl and you expect me to believe you?"

"But it's the truth!" he continued to persist.

"I wish I could believe you, Takumi, but I'm just too tired. Tired of arguing with you, tired of all the deception, and tired of trying to separate the truth from the lies."

"Akira, wha… what exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying that perhaps… perhaps our relationship has been nothing but a lie."

"What?" he now gasped in horror. "I… I can't believe you just said that!"

"I know it hasn't always been like that, but lately… well, you said it yourself earlier how you're too afraid to even tell or ask me anything anymore. And what kind of a relationship is that? Relationships are supposed to be built on trust, Takumi."

"Akira…" he said with a heavy heart.

"Goodbye, Takumi," she somberly bid him.

Helplessly looking on as she departed, softly closing the door behind her, a thoroughly stunned Takumi now just stood motionless with a dumbfounded expression upon his face, staring blankly at the door. Slowly raising his hand, which was still clutching Hiromi's handkerchief, Takumi caught a glimpse of the embroidered initials H and M, all the while continuing to ponder his actions from the past twenty-four hours, reaching only one horrific conclusion.

"What have I done?"


	2. Making Matters Worse

**Breaking Up is Hard to Do**

**Chapter 2 - Making Matters Worse**

There was a strange feeling of emptiness as he passed the girl's dormitory the following morning. Always meeting up with Akira and walking the remainder of the distance to school together, Takumi had come to cherish those brief jaunts that he got to share with her. He got no such pleasure this particular morning as he painfully proceeded beyond the structure.

"Takumi, wait up!" he heard his friend calling out to him.

Pausing to allow his friend to catch up, Takumi turned around and unenthusiastically greeted, "Oh, hey, Hajime."

"Well, good morning to you too. You sure sound cheerful," he sarcastically commented.

"Sorry. It's just that…"

"No, wait, don't tell me, let me guess," he attempted to deduce. Playfully walking around his friend and making a cursory observation, he ascertained, "Hmmm, well nothing seems to be broken."

"Hajime, please don't joke about…"

Pressing on as he proceeded with a close-up inspection of Takumi's face, he then concluded, "Yup, still just the one bruise. That can only mean that you didn't tell her. Take my advice and..."

"HAJIME!" an annoyed Takumi shouted at his friend. Now with his full and undivided attention, Takumi took a deep breath and calmly stated, "Sorry. Look, things didn't quite work out the way I had expected."

"Really? I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. Even Kyoko was okay with it after I had told her where we went. The only thing she was upset about was the fact that I didn't ask her to come along."

"Well I'm afraid Akira wasn't quite as forgiving. In fact, the whole thing was a complete disaster."

"Why, what happened?" Hajime asked with great concern.

"Well, I had planned on telling Akira everything that happened, but when she called me yesterday she kind of caught me off guard; I had forgotten that we were supposed to go the movies that day. But then she noticed that my voice sounded kind of funny and asked if I was feeling all right. That's when I panicked and told her that I was feeling a bit under the weather."

"Oh no. You lied to her again?"

"Uh, you're not really helping."

"Sorry."

"But you're right, I basically did lie to her. To make matters worse, she offered to come over and sit with me as well as make me some lunch. I really freaked out then and kept trying to hide my face so that she wouldn't notice my bruise. Obviously the charade didn't last very long and she soon found out. That's when I finally told her what had happened. But by then, the damage had already been done."

"She was pretty upset, huh?"

"Upset? You might say that, yes. In fact, I think I could have handled having her being merely upset. Instead, she became positively livid after Hiromi-san showed up."

"Hiromi? Man, talk about lousy timing. That could not have gone well."

"It didn't. Akira was really rude to her, which then made me really angry. So after she had left, we really went at it with each other. She even assumed that there was something going on between me and Hiromi-san."

"Man, that's rough."

"But the thing that really hurt was when she said that our whole relationship was a lie."

"Ouch!"

"I know. That… that really got to me," Takumi agonized, turning his head briefly off to the side as he desperately tried to hold back his tears.

"Takumi, I am so sorry," Hajime sympathized, placing a hand of support upon his friend's shoulder. "I never even imagined that anything would ever come between you two. Look, try not to let it get to you too much. She was just really angry when she said it, I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"Thanks, Hajime. I really hope you're right."

"Hajime, why didn't you wait for me?" a tall dark-haired girl shouted, running up from behind.

"Oh, sorry, Kyoko," Hajime apologized as the two then affectionately greeted each other with a quick kiss to the lips.

"Okay, you're forgiven," she tenderly replied. "Morning Takumi-san, how's it going?"

"Huh? Oh, morning, Kyoko-san," Takumi despondently greeted.

"What's his problem?"

Stopping momentarily, Hajime whispered, "He and Akira got into a really big fight yesterday."

"Oh, I see. Well don't worry, Takumi-san," she encouragingly remarked, " just apologize to her and admit that you were wrong. Of course some candy and flowers wouldn't hurt either," she subtlety added, glancing over at Hajime.

"Uh, candy AND flowers?" Hajime asked in disbelief.

"Of course. One's to make up for not telling her and the other is for not inviting me, uh, I mean, her along."

Sighing heavily and taking the hint, Hajime reluctantly conceded, "Oh alright."

"I wish it were as simple as that," Takumi dishearteningly replied. "But I'm afraid it's going to take a lot more than candy and flowers to get her to even listen to me."

"Oh my, that bad, huh?" Kyoko now comprehended.

"I'm afraid so," Hajime informed her, glancing down at his watch. "Look, we're going to be late for class, so I'll explain everything on the way."

* * *

Staring hopelessly out the window, unable to focus on the teacher's lecture, Takumi continued to dwell on Akira's cold shoulder treatment of him after attempting to talk with her upon entering the classroom. Finally jotting down a few notes that the teacher had written on the board, Takumi's train of thought strayed once again as he turned his head and glanced back at Akira, who was seated diagonally across from him in the next row. Turning her nose up at him and then burying her head back in her notes, Takumi now desperately looked to Hajime, seated two rows directly across from him, for his reaction, who then merely shrugged his shoulders, unable to offer his friend any advice. Sighing heavily, Takumi once again resumed his blank gaze out the window. Feeling sorry for him, Hajime attempted to get his friend's attention.

"Is there a problem, Moriyama-san?" their teacher inquired.

"Uh, no, sensei," Hajime nervously responded.

"Then I suggest you focus your attention to the front of the class rather than out the window."

"Uh, yes, sensei."

"And that goes for you too, Tokiha-san," the teacher indicated over to an unmotivated Takumi.

"Sorry, sensei," Takumi weakly replied, slowly turning his head to the front.

"Now then," the teacher continued, yet paused once again when he observed a colleague slide open the classroom door. Acknowledging him with a nod and also observing the female student whom he had escorted, he proceeded to announce, "Class, we have a new student who will be joining us today. She just transferred here from Osaka, so I want you all to help make her feel at home. Please come in, Misawa-san."

All eyes, but particularly the boys, now focused their attention on Hiromi. Practically drooling, they intently took notice of the standard issue white blouse and orange vest that she wore, or rather, it was what was underneath that held their attention, several even venturing to guess her breast size.

"Um, hello," Hiromi nervously greeted, politely bowing as she then introduced, "My name is Hiromi Misawa and I'm very happy to make your acquaintance and hope that we can all be very good friends."

Instantly perking up, Takumi couldn't help but to smile when he realized that Hiromi was being placed in his class. Even more so, his cheeks became flush when her eyes glanced over at him.

"Please take a seat by…" the teacher began to indicate to an empty desk by the back wall, interrupted when she then leaned over and made a request of him, whispering in his ear and pointing over to a desk by the window. "The window? Well I suppose that would be alright."

"Thank you, sensei."

"Just don't let me catch you daydreaming then. There appears to be a lot of that going on lately," he accusingly remarked, casting a suspicious eye over at both Takumi and Hajime.

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Very well. Then please take your seat in front of Tokiha-san."

Witnessing her flash a smile at Takumi as she sat down prompted an incensed Akira to clench her fist, which nearly caused the ink cartridge in the pen that she was holding to burst.

* * *

Wasting no time at the start of their lunch break, Takumi immediately retrieved the two bento lunches that he had placed inside his desk. Then, with great conviction, stood up behind his desk, firmly determined to resolve things with Akira.

"Takumi-kun," Hiromi called to him, "would you like to…"

"Excuse me, Hiromi-san," he resolutely stated, "but there's something that I need to do."

"Oh, ah, okay."

Already aware of his impending approach, Akira quickly turned her head away from him and prepared to get up from her desk.

"Akira, wait."

"What do you want, Takumi?" she coldly asked.

"I uh, just wanted to talk… about what happened yesterday."

"There's nothing to talk about. I've already told you how I felt. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get something to eat."

"Oh, ah, you don't have to do that. I already made your lunch. See?" he indicated, holding out one of the two bento boxes that he carried, offering it to her.

"I don't want it," she flatly refused.

"But it's your favorite! Beef rolls, spicy shimeji with lettuce, and sweet potatoes."

"Uh, I…" she hesitated momentarily as her mouth began to water, but ultimately declared, "I don't care."

"But, Akira!"

"What, you think that if you bribe me with your bento, that it'll make up for what you've done?"

"But I didn't do anything!" he maintained. "And I'm not trying to bribe you!"

"Humph!"

"Akira, you're being unreasonable!"

"Oh, I'm the one who's being unreasonable? And this coming from a liar and a cheat!"

"Oh come on, Akira, that was uncalled for!"

"Guys, please," Hajime now interceded. "You both need to calm down and…"

"Stay out of this, Hajime!" Akira inadvertently shouted, then quickly recanted, "Uh, sorry, Hajime, I didn't mean to yell at you. Please excuse me."

Recusing herself from any further discussion on the matter, Akira now hastily departed the room.

"A… Akira!" Takumi called after her. "Wait!"

While everyone who was still in the classroom now began talking amongst themselves, speculating on their impending breakup, Hajime merely ignored the idle gossip and placed a hand upon his friend's shoulder, discouraging him from going after Akira, yet at the same time attempted to provide some moral support.

"Can you believe that, Hajime?" a rather incensed Takumi said in disbelief. "What is wrong with her? She was totally out of line, don't you think?"

"Take it easy, Takumi," Hajime tried to calm his friend down. "Arguing with her isn't the answer. You're only going to make things worse. You need to be calm and talk things out rationally with her. Just give her some time first."

"You're right," he sighed. "Guess I am still a bit wound up from yesterday, we both are, I suppose. Maybe I'll wait a day or two before I say anything to her again."

"That's probably not a bad idea."

"Yeah. Thanks, Hajime."

"Sure," he supportively replied, smiling as he then suddenly began eyeing Takumi's extra bento. "So uh, what are you going to do with the extra bento lunch?"

"I'm way ahead of you on that, my friend. If Akira wants to be stubborn, then fine. Two can play at that game."

"Huh? What are you…"

"I'll just give it to someone who appreciates me for who I am and who doesn't think that I'm a liar and a cheat."

"Well there's no need to go that far," Hajime modestly replied as he started to hold out his hands. "But thank y…"

"Oh, Hiromi-san!" Takumi called, now heading over toward her desk.

"Uhhh…" a stunned and rather hungry Hajime responded.

* * *

Three days had now passed with no resolve in sight as the two now prolonged their silent treatment and also kept their distance from one another. Making matters worse, Takumi continued to bring in his homemade bento lunches for Hiromi, blatantly presenting them to her in clear view of Akira. Hajime, meanwhile, could only helplessly look on at their childish behavior.

Having cleaning duty at the end of Wednesday's class, Takumi was grateful that Hajime decided to stick around and help, although his main reason was to try and talk some sense into his friend.

"Takumi, I thought you were going to try talking to Akira again," Hajime pressed his friend. "This whole silent treatment just isn't working."

"I know, I know," he said in frustration. "But how can I? I can still see the anger in her eyes every time I walk past her."

"Maybe if I talked to her and explained things…"

"No, that's okay. I don't want to drag you into this too, but thanks."

"Oh, what are you talking about?" he sympathetically inquired. "Besides, I've already made it a point to drag myself into it."

"I know, and I appreciate it too."

"Do you mind if I give you some advice?"

"By all means."

"Do yourself, and Akira as well, a favor," Hajime suggested. "Stop hanging around with Hiromi-san and bringing her lunches, it's only making things worse. In fact, I think it's making Akira a little jealous. That's why she's still so angry."

"Jealous, huh? Reeeeally?" Takumi mischievously began to ponder.

"Takumi, I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay, I suppose you're right."

"Trust me, it's for the best."

"Yeah, I know. Well, in that case, I guess I'd better let Hiromi-san know that I won't be able to attend her swim practice this afternoon."

"Wait, you promised her that you would attend her… Oh, Takumi."

"Well she hasn't made many new friends yet and said that she would feel a lot better if someone she knew went along with her. Believe me, I felt a bit awkward and was actually going to turn her down."

"So why didn't you?"

"Uh, well you see, at that moment I happened to notice Akira giving me this really nasty look; she obviously overheard what was said. That kind of upset me, so I guess just to spite her I… I told Hiromi-san that I would be more than happy to go with her."

Slapping a hand to his face in frustration, Hajime shook his head in disbelief, "Takumi, what on earth were you thinking?"

"I… I guess I wasn't. Sorry."

"Well don't apologize to me, apologize to Akira."

"Apologize? But I…"

"Look, ever since this whole mess began, you've been making one bonehead mistake after another. No offense."

"Uh, none taken. But you're right. I suppose I have been letting my anger get the best of me these past few days, causing my judgment to become clouded. So starting tomorrow, no more bringing extra bento lunches for Hiromi-san or any other type of behavior that might suggest to Akira that we're anything other than just friends."

"Now that's the first rational thing you've said all day."

"Thanks… uh, I think."

"But ahh, you still might want to bring in that extra bento, not for Hiromi-san, of course, but for Akira. You know, just in case. And if she still turns it down, I'll be more than happy to take it off your hands."

"Oh?" Takumi looked to him with a raised eyebrow and sarcastically remarked, "That's mighty thoughtful of you."

"Okay, look, the truth is I've had to skip buying lunch these past three days."

"What? Why?"

"Hey, do you know how much flowers and candy cost?" Hajime pointed out, sighing as he added, "The things I do to keep my precious Kyoko happy."

"A small price to pay for your misdeeds, I suppose," Takumi humorously observed. "I just wish I could have got off so easily. Anyway, I guess I'd better go and tell Hiromi-san that I won't be attending her swim practice."

"No, that's okay," Hajime offered, "I'll go tell her."

"You will?"

"Of course. Besides, it's probably not a good idea for you to be seen around her, especially in her swimsuit, not to mention all those other cute girls."

"Hmm, you've got a point," Takumi realized, then whimsically remarked, "Oh but I couldn't let you do that. Risking life and limb as you navigate through the entire girl's swim team just to deliver a message for me."

"It definitely won't be easy, but hey, that's what friends are for," Hajime announced with a smirk.

Amused as he shook his head, Takumi couldn't help but smile at his friend's humorous good nature.

As he started to head out, Hajime turned back to his friend and commented, "Say if you really want to impress Akira with your bento tomorrow, bring me, uh, I mean her, your mouth-watering beef sukiyaki."

"Would you get out of here!" Takumi exasperatingly yelled, but then playfully added, "Go on, before I change my mind and tell Kyoko-san about your little voyeuristic excursion."

"Thanks, Takumi!" he called back to him as he made his way down the hall. "You're the best!"

* * *

Early the next morning, Takumi made it a point to arrive at class several minutes earlier, allowing him some extra time to speak with Akira. Unfortunately, she seemed to be running a bit late.

"Great, she's still not here," he said in frustration.

"Take it easy, Takumi," Hajime tried to reassure him, "she'll be here soon. If not, you can always wait until lunch and talk with her then."

"I know, but I'd like to get this over with before then."

"Good morning, Takumi-kun, Hajime-san," a cheery voice greeted.

"Good morning, Hiromi-san," the two both acknowledged in unison.

"I missed you at my swim practice yesterday," she lamented. "But Hajime-san explained everything to me. I'm sorry if I've caused you and Okuzaki-san any problems. Maybe I can talk to her and try and straighten things out."

"Thank you, but, I really don't think that'll do any good, quite the opposite in fact."

"Are you sure? Well, all right. Still, I feel really bad about what's happened."

"Please don't blame yourself. You've done nothing but befriend me throughout this entire ordeal. I'm just sorry for the way that Akira has treated you. In fact, I'd kind of like to make it up to you by…"

"Ahem!" Hajime pretended to clear his throat so as to get Takumi's attention, clearly worried that he was about to say something that he might later regret.

"Um, right," Takumi then realized, witnessing Hajime shake his head at him and give him a disapproving look.

"Listen, Takumi," Hajime now suggested, "I've been thinking. This whole ordeal has been very taxing on the both of you. You need to take Akira somewhere where you can both unwind, helping to put all of this behind you. And the perfect place right now would be the Tanabata festival that's starting tomorrow."

"Oh that's a wonderful idea!" Hiromi concurred. "You should definitely ask her to go with you, Takumi-kun. That would be so romantic."

"What would be so romantic?" Akira's voice came from behind.

"Akira?" a startled Takumi reacted.

"Hope I didn't interrupt anything important, like the plans for your date."

"No, Akira, you've got it all wrong," Hajime tried to clarify. "In fact, Takumi was just going to…"

"Please don't try to cover for him, Hajime. Besides, I don't want his lying tendencies to start rubbing off on you."

"Akira!" Takumi protested.

"No, really," Hiromi now attempted to explain, "We were merely just suggesting to Takumi that he…"

"You know what, I don't care," she said in an annoying tone as she began walking away.

"Akira, wait!" he urged, following her over to her to her desk. "Akira, we really need to talk."

"You sure your precious little Hiromi-chan won't mind?"

"Come on, Akira, cut it out. I'm serious. This whole thing has been nothing but one big misunderstanding after another and has dragged on for way too long. It's time we put an end to it. So please, hear me out."

"Alright, I'm listening."

Pulling up a chair beside her, he began, "I know none of this would have happened if I had just been honest with you from the start. But when you called me that morning I kind of just freaked out and wound up telling you that I wasn't feeling well, when in actuality I intended to come clean on the whole matter. I guess you just kind of caught me off guard and I panicked. Then things just seemed to snowball after that. I'm really sorry, Akira."

Shaking her head in frustration, Akira remarked, "I don't know what goes through that head of yours sometimes, Takumi. Right now part of me feels sorry for you and wants to forgive you, while the other wants to just pound some common sense into that thick skull of yours."

"Yeah, well, I really wouldn't blame you."

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, she conceded, "Well, as long as you admit that you were wrong about the lying as well as flirting with that girl."

"Now wait a minute," he began to object to her accusation. "While I freely admit that I was in the wrong for not being totally open with you as well as trying to deceive you, I was in no way flirting with Hiromi-san."

"Oh, please. I've seen the way you look at her, plus the fact that you're always bringing in your homemade bento lunches for her."

"Those were for you! I merely gave them to her because you and your stupid pride kept turning them down."

"Oh, so now I'm stupid?"

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Okay, well then how do you explain going to her swim practice yesterday?"

"But I didn't go."

"Unbelievable! So now you're going to lie to me again? I clearly overheard the two of you yesterday. You promised her you would be there after she asked you to go with her."

"I was being nice! She's new here and doesn't have many friends yet. I merely agreed to go to offer some moral support. But I ended up not going when Hajime made me realize that it might make you a bit uncomfortable, which it obviously has."

"Oh, so then you would have gone had Hajime not convinced you otherwise."

"Look, I just said that I didn't go! Akira, why do you have to…"

Stopping himself short, Takumi caught a glimpse of Hajime out of the corner of his eye, frantically shaking his head and making a slashing motion with his hand across his throat.

Taking the hint, Takumi now calmly requested, "Uh, look, can we not discuss this anymore? I'd really just like to put all of this behind us and move on. Besides, we'll be able to enjoy the Tanabata festival a lot more once we stop all this quarrelling."

"So I'm supposed to just ignore the fact that any of this had ever happened? And what makes you think that I even want to go to the Tanabata festival with you? Did you ever think that I might be going with somebody else?"

"Somebody else?" he skeptically retorted. "Oh come on, Akira, be serious."

"What, you don't believe me? You know what, that's alright, because unlike some people, I don't have to go around making things up to get my point across. Hey, Wataru-san!"

Getting the attention of a dark-haired boy in the front of the class, the usually quiet and somewhat shy student nervously responded, "Uh, yes, Akira-san?"

"I changed my mind," she informed him. "If you still want to, I'd love to go to the Tanabata festival with you."

Her proclamation definitely caught the boy off guard, in addition to the rest of the class. Takumi meanwhile was totally flabbergasted.

"Really? You mean it?" Wataru excitedly reacted.

"Akira, what are you doing?" Takumi demanded to know.

"Well not that it's any of your business, but Wataru-san had asked me earlier if I wanted to go to the festival with him. I initially told him that I would think about it, but now I don't have to because you just helped to make up my mind for me."

"Oh come on, Akira, you can't be serious about this!"

"Sorry, Takumi, you had your chance."

"But, Akira…"

"Uh, sorry, Takumi-san," Wataru apologetically replied. "I wouldn't have asked her if I thought that the two of you were still seeing each other."

"Well we're not, so don't worry about it," Akira assured him.

While the rest of the class began gossiping amongst themselves and texting their friends, a stunned Takumi just sat there with his mouth agape.

His look of shock now quickly turning to anger, Takumi then stood up and headed over toward Hiromi's desk where he determinedly asked, "Hiromi-san, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the Tanabata festival tomorrow night?"

Surprised at his invitation, Hiromi's response was cut short by the class rep's announcement of their teacher's arrival.

"All bow!"

Once the students took their seats after respectfully greeting their teacher, Hiromi quickly turned around to Takumi and, with a smile, ecstatically whispered, "I'd love to."

Providing a huge boost to his ego, Takumi now glanced back at Akira and gave her a smug look of satisfaction. Hajime, meanwhile, was becoming more and more exasperated by their rather immature behavior, groaning as he now buried his head into his hands.

"Something troubling you, Moriyama-san?" the teacher asked with concern. "You have a headache?"

"Uh, you could say that, sensei. Although, this isn't a headache in the traditional sense."

"Well, do you think you might want to go to the nurse's office then?"

"No, that's okay, unless you think she might be able to offer up a cure for stubbornness and stupidity," he remarked, shooting a glance over at Akira and Takumi respectively.


	3. Feelings of Regret

I just wanted to apologize for how long it's taken me to update; the story just started running longer than I had anticipated. It's now nearly complete, but rather than make you wait any longer I decided to just break it up into two chapters since the finished product might not be up before Christmas, which is what I was originally shooting for. Sorry, should have just done that in the first place. Anyway, speaking of Christmas, I just wanted to remind anyone who hasn't read it yet to please check out my Christmas themed Akira/Takumi story, "Blizzard Conditions". (Shameless plug, I know) Hope you enjoy it along with this most recent chapter. And lastly, I just want to thank all of my loyal readers and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a most joyous and prosperous New Year!

* * *

**Breaking Up is Hard to Do**

**Chapter 3 - Feelings of Regret**

"Don't say it, Hajime," Takumi pleaded with his friend directly after class. "You don't have to tell me, I already know. I screwed up big time."

"What the hell, Takumi?" Hajime voiced in disgust, throwing his arms up in the air. "She was all ready to forgive you, but you just had to argue the point with her when she brought up the fact that you were flirting with Hiromi-san."

"But I wasn't!" he continued to deny.

"Uh, I hate to break it to you, pal, but yeah, you were."

"Oh not you too, Hajime! Look, I swear to you that I wasn't…"

"Hey, you don't have to defend yourself to me; I know you didn't mean to do it. But while your intentions may have been good and you were just being your usual charming self, the fact of the matter is that that's not how others may have perceived it."

"You think I'm charming?"

"Focus, Takumi, focus!"

"Sorry."

Exasperated, Hajime continued. "Offering her your bento, accepting her invitation to her swim practice, what do you expect people to think when you send out mixed signals like that?"

"I see your point."

"So what you should have done was apologize, not just for the lying, but also for flirting with Hiromi-san. Then you could have explained to her, in a calm and rational manner, that it was totally unintentional and meant her no ill will. But instead you just had to try and prove that you were right and she was wrong. And you accuse her 'stupid pride' of getting in the way? That's a laugh! Have you looked in the mirror lately? You're just as guilty as she is."

"Wow, you're not holding back, are you?" Takumi humbly noted.

"Well can you blame me?" he emotionally shot back. "I'm desperately trying to help you, Takumi, but then you go and screw things up with Akira yet again! And just because she asked Wataru-san to the festival didn't mean you had to go and do the same with Hiromi-san! Jeez! I swear, the two of you can be so damn stubborn and thickheaded sometimes! It just irks me to no end!"

Feeling guilty that his behavior was causing his friend so much grief, Takumi remorsefully offered, "You're right. I've been a complete idiot this entire time and I should have listened to you. I'm sorry, Hajime."

"Yeah, well…"

"But I must say, I'm surprised that you feel so passionate about this. After all, it's not your problem."

"Oh come on, do I even need to say it?" he modestly stated, now forced to confess, "You're my best friend. You think I'm just going to sit back and watch as your relationship with Akira self-destructs? Not a chance."

"Hajime," Takumi affectionately replied.

Throwing his arm around Takumi's neck, Hajime now proceeded to place his friend in a headlock, playfully rubbing his fist into his head.

"Well, is it finally starting to rub off on you?" Hajime persisted, continuing to grind his fist into Takumi's head.

"Is what… Oww, starting to rub off? Hahaha. Hajime, cut it out!"

"Some common sense," Hajime then divulged, releasing Takumi from his grip.

Giving him an appreciative smile, Takumi confessed, "It may have taken awhile, but I think it's finally starting to sink in."

"Well it's certainly about time. You know," Hajime began to point out, "for a future psychology major who's always helping everyone else out and offering up all this great advice, you sure could stand to take some of your own once in a while."

"Yeah, you may be right at that. So, I guess I better let Hiromi-san know that I won't be taking her to the festival tomorrow."

"Actually, that's probably not a good idea," Hajime indicated.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well you already promised that you would take her. Besides, it's not the same as when you didn't show up for her swim practice. So really, it wouldn't be fair to her."

"I guess you're right. But Akira is certainly not going to be happy about it."

"No, but don't forget, she too will have her own date."

"Yeah, don't remind me," Takumi despondently replied.

"You know, I'm kind of surprised that Wataru-san got up the courage to ask Akira out. He's usually so shy and reserved. Looks like he's finally starting to break out of that shell of his. Well, good for him, I say."

"Uh, exactly whose side are you on, Hajime?"

"Oh, relax. I'm just saying. Anyway, I figured that the two of you could tag along with Kyoko and me, you know, sort of a double date. Only, we'll see to it that it's not an actual date. Just think of us as your own personal chaperones."

"Chaperones, huh? So basically, you just want to keep an eye on us and make sure that we don't try anything funny, is that it?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to protect you from yourself," Hajime tried to convince him. "And believe me, with the way you've been acting lately, you need all the protection you can get."

"Gee, thanks."

"Besides, if you're with us the entire time, Akira will have no reason whatsoever to suspect that anything is amiss between you and Hiromi-san."

"Hmmm, good point. Only, I feel kind of bad that we'll sort of be intruding on your own date with Kyoko-san."

"Oh come on, it's no big deal, really."

"Thanks, Hajime, I really appreciate this."

"Don't mention it," he modestly replied, then added, "Uh, but don't think that I'm doing this just for your benefit. The sooner you two get back together, the sooner I won't have to keep putting up with all of your constant sulking."

"Sorry. Guess I have been making your life pretty difficult lately."

"Look, I just want the old Takumi back. Although, now that I think about it, there is a downside once things do go back to normal."

"A downside?"

"Well, sure. After all," he began to joke, "once Akira is back is back in the picture, she'll be getting your extra bento lunches again, not me."

"Okay, Hajime," Takumi sighed, shaking his head in amusement as he then happily offered, "What would you like me to bring you tomorrow?"

* * *

Attending her triweekly Kendo club practice, Akira was pretty much used to hearing a lot of the sexist male banter that some of her cohorts would occasionally spew; somehow it just never seemed to faze her. On top of that, being the only female in the entire club, everyone kind of just took it for granted and pretty much treated her like one of the guys. Regardless, she still garnered a great deal of respect from the other members, seeing as how she was also the club's strongest and most talented.

Sparing with one of her cohorts, while one of his friends and the team captain stood alongside the edge of the mat and looked on, Akira, despite her usual indifference, seemed to be having a rather difficult time containing her anger on this particular day.

"Hey, you guys get a load of the new second year transfer student in 2-B?" Seiji, the first student, commented.

"Oh my god, dude, is she stacked or what?" Akira's sparring partner, Yuji, excitedly replied.

"Guys, come on," their captain scolded. "Don't talk about that kind of stuff in front of Akira."

"It's all right, Kenichi-sempai," Akira pretended not to take offense at.

"So, do you think she already has a boyfriend?" Seiji pressed on.

"Dude, you'd never even make it to first base with her anyway," Yuji remarked as he blocked a blow from Akira's bokuto.

"Say, Akira," the captain then realized. "You're in class 2-B, aren't you? Do you happen to know who they're talking about?"

"Uh, yeah, kind of," she reluctantly admitted.

"Really? Sweet!" Yuji eagerly said, perking up his ears. "What's her name?"

"Hiromi," Akira gritted through her teeth, reemphasizing her first name on the upswing with her bokuto, then angrily shouting, as is the custom in Kendo, her surname, fiercely striking down at her opponent. "Hiromi… MISAWA!"

"Yo, watch it! You nearly hit me that time," a startled Yuji indicated, narrowly dodging her last blow.

"Akira, take it easy," her captain warned. "Remember, Yuji-san's just starting off, he's not used to such attacks yet."

"Sorry, sempai. Sorry, Yuji-san. Guess I got a little carried away."

"Okay, well, I'll tell you what," the captain suggested to her. "Why don't I spar with you for awhile. Yuji, Seiji, I want you to observe my defensive moves."

"Yes, sempai," they agreed in unison.

Much more adept than the other students, their captain didn't seem to have any difficulty in handling Akira's intense fighting style.

"Nice move, sempai," Seiji commented at Kenichi's quick reflexes, but quickly lost focus though as he redirected his attention and asked, "So, Akira-san, what's she like? She have a boyfriend yet?"

"Yeah," Yuji then anxiously followed up, "and do you know if she's going with anyone to the Tanabata festival?"

Now filled with a ferocious rage, even the captain wasn't prepared for Akira's next onslaught, which struck with such intensity that it caused his bokuto to snap in half.

"Whoa! Did you see that?" a flabbergasted Seiji reacted, which also turned the heads of all the other club members.

"A… Akira," her stunned captain finally managed to get out.

"I'm really sorry, sempai," Akira now began to profusely apologize, bowing deeply before her superior.

"It… it's okay, really. In fact, I really admire your fortitude, only, try and save some of that for the tournament."

"Uh, right. Sorry."

"Akira-san, that was an amazing show of force!" Seiji excitedly exclaimed. "With you on our team, there's no way we'll lose the tournament next month."

"Seiji, please," the captain beseeched, observing that something was clearly bothering Akira, which then prompted him to announce, "Alright, guys, why don't we wrap things up for today."

"You heard Kenichi-sempai," Seiji reiterated, "Hit the showers!"

As everyone now began to disperse, the captain requested, "Akira, wait. I need to talk to you."

"Uh, yes, sempai?"

"Akira," he began with great concern, "is… is something bothering you?"

"N… no, not really," she stammered. "It's just… I've got a lot on my mind right now, that's all."

"I see," he understandably replied, prompting him to inquire, "Listen, Akira, I don't mean to pry but… did something happen between you and Takumi-san?"

"Uh, why… why would you ask that?" she nervously faltered.

"Well clearly, he's not here again," referring to how Takumi would, like clockwork, come by toward the end of their practice sessions just so that he could walk together with her back to her dorm. "In fact, he hasn't come by all week."

"Well, ahh, he's been pretty busy this week and hasn't…"

"Akira, come on, give me a little credit. I saw how you reacted at the mention of her name, and then again later when Seiji and Yuji pressed you for information about her boyfriend. It's not hard to put two and two together."

Trying to contain herself, Akira just bit down on her lower lip, but to no avail. Having kept her feelings bottled up throughout these past few days, she finally began to succumb as she helplessly looked up to her captain and tearfully whimpered, "Se… Sempai."

In desperation, she then reached out and grabbed onto the edge of his uniform's sleeve.

"Are… are you crying?" he asked out of concern, but was immediately taken aback when she threw her arms around him and began sobbing uncontrollably. "Uh, hey, c… come on now, it can't be all that bad."

"I'm such an idiot!" she balled while still maintaining her tight grasp of him, her tears being instantly devoured into his dark blue uwagi on contact.

Feeling extremely awkward and uncertain of what he should do, Kenichi finally began to slowly raise his arms and, ever so gently, wrapped them around her body to provide some comfort, sympathetically offering, "It'll be alright."


	4. Wish Upon a Star

**Breaking Up is Hard to Do**

**Chapter 4 - Wish Upon a Star**

Tanabata. Traditionally celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, this now legendary star festival has become a prominent and most festive time for making wishes. The ancient Chinese legend, which later made its way to Japan, tells the story of Orihime, the weaving princess, and Hikoboshi, the cowherd, who are both represented by the stars Vega and Altair, respectively. Orihime would weave beautiful cloth on the bank of the river, representing the Milky Way, for her father, Tentei, the Sky King. Becoming worried for his daughter because she worked so hard, he one day decided to introduce her to Hikoboshi, who lived across the river. Instantly falling in love upon meeting, the two were then soon married. Although they were extremely happy together, they soon began to neglect their duties; Orihime would stop weaving while Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. Angry with the two, Tentei decided to separate them by placing the Milky Way between them. Begging her father to let them meet again, Tentei succumbed to his daughter's tears and agreed to let them meet once a year, but only if she worked hard and finished her weaving. If not, he would make it rain on that night, causing the river to become flooded and she would therefore not be able to cross the Milky Way to see her beloved, forcing the two to wait another whole year. On this particular Tanabata night, the skies were impeccably clear, which meant that the two star-crossed lovers would once again be permitted to reunite.

The Fuka Academy student council, as they do every year on this seventh day of July, had once again festooned the school grounds with various banners, streamers and miniature lights, which surrounded the numerous food, gaming, souvenir and other entertainment stalls, making for a most festive carnival-like atmosphere. Stalks of bamboo also adorned various parts of the academy, as well as the local shrine, to which students and faculty alike would then attach small strips of paper, called tanzaku, on which they would write their wishes or even poems.

And, as is customary at most Japanese festivals, various students, but mainly the girls, were wearing a yukata, a summer kimono typically made of a lightweight cotton material, a most comfortable attire to wear in the summer months. However, a small handful of students and faculty could also be seen sporting the more traditional silk kimono. Hiromi, for one, had on an elegant, vintage style, blue and white kimono with an intricate floral pattern running throughout, complimented by the matching obi, or sash.

With the setting of the sun, dusk had now descended upon the area, soon compensated for though by the thousands of now brightly-lit strings of miniature lights that adorned the festival grounds. Basking in its glow at a nearby gaming booth, Takumi, Hiromi and Kyoko were watching intently as Hajime, with a softball in hand, took careful aim at his target.

"Aw man! I really thought I had it that time," a disillusioned Hajime expressed after a failed fourth attempt at the carnival game, knocking only five of the six intended milk jugs down.

"Oh, just forget about it, Hajime," Kyoko consoled. "It's not worth it. Save your money."

"No, no, I almost got it that time. Just one more try."

Insistent that victory was within his grasp, and knowing that she had her heart set on the winning prize, Hajime paid the carnival barker another three hundred yen of his hard-earned money for one last fervent attempt at procuring a shot at winning a small plush figure for Kyoko. Giving it everything he had into this last pitch, Hajime finally managed to knock down all six of the metal objects.

"And the boy wins a prize for his sweetheart!" the barker loudly proclaimed.

Regardless of what it had cost him, Hajime felt a tremendous sense of satisfaction when the barker handed him his prize, a large plush figurine of Mokona from the manga and anime series "Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle".

"Aww, kawaii!" Kyoko excitedly expressed, tightly embracing the plushie when she received it. Then wrapping her arms around Hajime's neck and planting an appreciative kiss upon his cheek, she exclaimed, "Hajime, you're the best!"

"Way to go, Hajime-san," Hiromi congratulated.

Even though he was happy for him, Takumi couldn't help but envy his friend's good fortune at that moment, recalling how he too had felt when he had won a similar such item for Akira.

"Takumi-kun, what's wrong?" Hiromi concernedly asked, sensing a tinge of sadness in his expression.

"Huh? Oh, ah, it's nothing, really. I was just thinking back to the time when Akira…" Stopping himself, he suddenly realized he might be making Hiromi feel a bit uncomfortable. "Uh, sorry. I'm sure you don't want to hear me talk about her."

"No, no, it… it's fine," she awkwardly responded.

"Hey, ah, you guys hungry?" Hajime jumped in, quickly trying to change the subject. "I hear they've got some really awesome tasting mitarashi dango here."

"Yeah, I could go for some of that right now," Kyoko eagerly anticipated.

"Sounds good to me," Hiromi concurred.

"Okay, then you girls wait here," Hajime indicated, "and we'll go get you some. Come on, Takumi."

"Huh?" Takumi said in a sort of stupor, but then finally acknowledged, "Oh, ah, sure. Coming."

Heading over toward the food stand, first making sure they were out of earshot of the girls, Hajime then implored of his friend, "Come on, Takumi, would you lighten up. You've been moping around ever since we got here."

"I'm sorry, Hajime, I don't mean to be such a downer and ruin everyone's evening," he despondently replied. "I don't know, maybe it was a mistake for me to come here. It's probably best if I just went home."

"Would you snap out of it! Jeez, listen to yourself! Now you're going to go back to Hiromi-san," he forcefully stated, "with a smile on your face, I might add, and you're going to enjoy yourself for the remainder of the evening… even if it kills you!"

"Okay, okay," Takumi finally grasped, forcing a smile. "But you're right. I did promise Hiromi-san that I would show her a good time and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"That's the spirit. Oh, ah, four please," Hajime then requested of the vendor, who proceeded to hand him four skewers, each containing three large dumplings that had been brushed with a caramelized coating of a sweet and sour type mixture. Digging through his pockets as the vendor waited patiently for his money, Hajime then looked to Takumi, who had already paid his share, and embarrassingly confessed, "Uhh, I think I may be a bit short. You suppose you could…"

"Oh, don't worry about it; I got it," Takumi graciously offered, reaching into his pocket and paying the vendor the balance due.

"Thanks. Looks like I spent more on those games of chance than I realized, ah heh heh," he awkwardly laughed.

"No problem. Besides, it's the least I could do for all your help as well as being so patient with me. Plus, I know first hand how easy it is to lose track and spend a small fortune on those kinds of games," Takumi admitted. "But the satisfaction of finally winning and then seeing the expression on the face of Akira when I handed her…"

Smiling as he shook his head in amusement, Hajime was forced to declare, "You're hopeless. You've got Akira on the brain."

"I can't help it, Hajime. Ever since our fight, I just haven't been able to get her off my mind."

"Well that's because she's not just in your mind," Hajime pointed out, indicating then with his hand to the center of Takumi's chest, "but also in here."

Takumi certainly couldn't argue the point, nodding only in agreement with him as they made their way back to the girls.

"About time you got back," Kyoko impatiently remarked, snatching one of the dango skewers from Hajime's hand and instantaneously taking a bite out of it. "Mmmm, so good. Thank you, Hajime."

"Here you go, Hiromi-san, "Takumi said in a more upbeat manner, handing her the skewer. "Careful now, it's hot."

"Thank you, Takumi-kun," she acknowledged, happy to see that his mood had changed.

"You guys want to head up to the shrine now and make your wishes?" Takumi then inquired.

"Sure," Hiromi anxiously replied, "and I already know what I want to wish for."

"Me too," Kyoko corroborated.

"Great, so then let's…" Takumi then suddenly froze in his tracks when he spied Akira, along with Wataru, over by one of the gaming stalls that featured target practice.

Standing behind Wataru, who was hunched over the counter with an airgun aimed at a target, Akira then unexpectedly placed her head directly alongside his, sensing that Takumi was watching them. Wataru was certainly taken aback by her sudden display of affection, causing him to blush, but didn't attempt to dissuade her. Resting her chin upon his shoulder, in addition to having her hands placed atop his, she then attempted to help him with his aim.

"Come on, Takumi, don't do this," Hajime pleaded with him as he continued to eye the two. "Just leave them be."

"Yeah, I know, but… look at her," he indicated, extremely bothered by her rather carefree behavior as she now excitedly hugged Wataru when he successfully hit his target. At the same time, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off the elegant yukata that she wore, staring intently at its gorgeous, flowery pattern that only helped accentuate her beauty even more so.

"So? They're just trying to have a good time, same as us."

"Well, she seems to be having too good a time if you ask me."

"Oh would you relax," Hajime implored.

"Yeah," Kyoko now chimed in, "try and keep those jealous rages in check."

"Jealous? I'm not…" Hesitating as he looked over at Hiromi, Takumi was then reminded of why he came here this evening. Feeling remorseful, he then took a deep breath and proceeded to take Hiromi's hand in his.

"Takumi-kun," she pleasantly expressed, as a tinge of pink overcame her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. You didn't come here to watch me brood," he firmly stated with an affable smile, "you came here to have fun. Now I promised that I would show you a good time and I intend to keep that promise."

"Well, that's more like it," Kyoko thankfully replied. "Now let's head up to the shrine because somebody here really needs to have their wish granted."

As he turned around in the direction of the steps leading up to the shrine, Takumi had the misfortune of bumping into an all too familiar individual.

"Oomph! Oh, I'm so sorry," Takumi profusely apologized.

"Look where you're going, will you pal. You almost… Well, well, look who it is."

"Y… Yoshida-sempai?"

Sure enough, Takumi found himself staring up into the intimidating eyes of the scraggly, goatee-sporting, third year student who had slugged him only a week earlier.

"I see you still have a bit of a remnant from our last encounter," Yoshida observed, referring to the still lightly bruised left side of Takumi's face. "Maybe you'll think twice next time before trying to mess with me."

"Lay off, Murata," Kyoko warned, "or I'll tell Yumi that you've been acting like an ass again."

"Ooo, like I'm scared of my kid sister."

"It's not your sister you should be afraid of, it's her boyfriend. You know, the captain of the Kendo club."

"Yo, why you gotta be like that? Besides, I'm not trying to cause my boy here any trouble," Yoshida attempted to reassure her by throwing his arm around Takumi. "See, we're cool. Right, Tokiha?"

"Uh, yeah," Takumi uneasily replied, taking a step back to release himself from Yoshida's so-called friendly gesture.

Now recognizing that his cousin, Hiromi, was accompanying him, Yoshida crassly remarked, "Well, looks like you're not doing too badly for yourself, Tokiha. I'm glad to see that you at least agreed to take my advice."

"Advice?"

"Yeah, dumping that ninja chick. I told you she was holding you back. Now maybe you'll… Hey, where you going?"

Not wishing to give him any more of his attention, an exasperated Takumi just ignored the big blowhard and turned to his friends. "Come on guys, let's get out of here."

"Oh, I see how it is," Yoshida called after him as they began walking away. "You're just afraid to admit that I was right about that lesbo bitch."

Stopping dead in his tracks, his back still turned to Yoshida, Takumi's anger slowly began to build within him, gritting his teeth as he then warned, "I'm going to tell you this one last time: you had better apologize and take back what you said."

"Ooo, looks like I hit a nerve. Wait, don't tell me you still got a thing for her?"

"Shut up! Now apologize!"

Hahaha! Or else what?"

"Takumi, don't even think about it," Hajime warned, observing his enraged friend's tightly clenched fists.

"Takumi-kun, you mustn't," Hiromi pleaded, grabbing hold of his arm as he turned back around to face Yoshida.

"Better listen to her, Tokiha," Yoshida mocked, "otherwise I'll have to give your face another reminder of what it means when you try to go up against me."

"I… I don't care," Takumi persisted.

"Takumi, please, just walk away," Hajime implored.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Hajime. He's a bully, pure and simple, and I refuse to let him badmouth Akira, or anyone else for that matter, any longer. It stops here!"

"Still haven't learned your lesson, have you?" Yoshida remarked while cracking his knuckles. "You're just asking for it, aren't you? Well, come on, what are you waiting for? I'm wide open. Hit me! I dare you," he continued to egg him on.

Tremendously agitated from Yoshida's antagonizing, Takumi now raised his fist, preparing to charge at him. Just as he was about to throw a punch, Hajime suddenly stepped between the two.

"Yo, Moriyama, what gives?"

"Hajime, what are you doing?"

"I can't let you do this, Takumi. This goes completely against your convictions."

Takumi just gave his friend a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

"Have you forgotten already?" Hajime then reminded him. "You're the one who's always preaching the four principles of self-defense to other kids who've been bullied. You always tell them to either avoid being put in such a situation, to walk away, talk their way out of it, or, if all else fails, to defend themselves. You've done none of those. Instead, you've let him get to you to the point where you yourself have now become the aggressor. So did you even mean any of what you said, or was it all a lie? You've somehow gotten pretty good at that lately."

"Hajime..." a dispirited Takumi remarked as Hajime now stepped off to the side and continued to eye him with a look of disappointment.

"Yo, we gonna do this or what?" Yoshida impatiently demanded.

Giving serious thought to his friend's harsh criticism, a now humbled Takumi looked to his opponent and offered, "Sorry, but I'm not going to fight you."

"You're not going to… Look, I don't think you understand, but you don't exactly have a choice in the matter."

"Yes, I do. And I choose not to fight."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Hajime shot his friend a smile, thankful that he had decided to listen to reason.

Just as Takumi began to turn and walk away from the volatile situation, Yoshida, as in their past encounter, waited until his back was turned, raised his fist, and once again took a swipe at Takumi. Fortunately, Takumi was prepared for him this time as he swiftly took up a defensive stance. Using his forearm to block the punch, while simultaneously rotating his body by pivoting on the ball of his right foot, Takumi successfully managed to sidestep Yoshida's initial attack.

"Been practicing, I see," Yoshida commented just before he threw his next punch, once again missing his mark.

"Leave him alone, Murata!" Kyoko insisted.

"Yeah, can't you see that he doesn't want to fight you?" Hajime added.

"Stay out of this, you two," Yoshida warned, who by now was getting extremely frustrated that he hadn't yet been able to land a hit on Takumi. "You're pretty quick on your feet, kid, but you can't avoid me forever. So let's see you dodge… THIS!"

Leaping into the air and spinning his body around three hundred and sixty degrees to build momentum, his leg extended outward, Yoshida attempted a jump-spin kick for his next onslaught.

"Takumi-kun, look out!" Hiromi cried as she instinctively jumped out in front of Takumi, holding him closely in her arms in an attempt to shield him from the attack.

Caught off guard, Takumi was forced to react quickly by spinning their bodies around so that he would be the one to bear the brunt of the assault. Bracing for the inevitable impact by hugging Hiromi tightly up against his body, Takumi was then naturally surprised when it never came, hearing only the painful cries of Yoshida.

"YOW! Son of a..."

Letting up somewhat on his embrace, Takumi was suddenly taken aback when he turned around to find Yoshida lying flat on his back, but was even more surprised when he saw who was standing over his body.

"A… Akira?"

"All right, Takumi, what the hell is going on here?"

Realizing the awkward position that he was in, still holding Hiromi in his arms, Takumi immediately released her from his embrace as he then nervously offered, "Uh, it… it's not what you think. Hiromi-san was just trying to protect me from…"

"I'm not talking about that. I want to know what you're doing fighting this oaf."

"Hey!" Yoshida strongly objected as he slowly began to sit up, still rather shaken up from the impact of the fall. "What did you just call me? You're going to be really sorry for what you… Oh crap, it's you," he then recognized when he finally looked up and saw Akira's menacing expression.

"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you," Akira warned, placing her foot upon Yoshida's chest as he was about to get up, pinning him down.

"Akira-san, there you are," a rather anxious Wataru came running up to her, sounding somewhat out of breath. "Why'd you run off like that?"

"Sorry, Wataru-san," Akira apologetically replied. "I just had some unfinished business that I needed to take care of. I promise I'll explain later."

Then noticing Yoshida lying on the ground Wataru concernedly inquired, "Uh, is he alright?"

"Oh, don't worry about him," Akira said with a hint of malice in her voice, applying some more pressure with her foot onto Yoshida's chest.

"Akira, please, let him go," Takumi requested. "Besides, this doesn't concern you."

"The hell it doesn't!" Yoshida loudly objected as he now began to stand up. "She's the reason why you're so crazy!"

"What do you mean?" Akira curiously asked.

"I mean every time I mention you in conversation, he freaks out! The same thing happened last week."

"Last week?" Akira suddenly realized. "Wait, so are you the one responsible for hitting him at that club?"

"Hey, he was about to hit me first. I was just defending myself. I merely tried to offer my buddy here some advice, telling him that I thought that you weren't right for him. That's when he snapped."

"Oh that is such a load of crap!" Hajime protested. "Your buddy? Please! You're just acting nice all of a sudden because you're afraid that Akira will kick your butt. In the first place, Takumi never even laid a finger on you and was about to walk away when you suddenly attacked him from behind once he turned his back on you. And secondly, how can you blame him for getting upset with you after you insulted…"

"Hajime!" Takumi unexpectedly interrupted, shaking his head in objection, not wishing for him to disclose any further details of that evening."

"Oh, what's this?" Yoshida delighted in hearing. "You never told her, did you? Well, don't worry, pal," he reassured Takumi by placing his arm around him. "I won't embarrass you. But I still stand by what I said back then and think that she's…"

Leaning over and whispering the remainder of his thoughts, Takumi's face turned beet red after hearing the disparaging comments that Yoshida had made, causing him to become positively livid.

Just as Yoshida had predicted, Takumi abruptly grabbed him by the collar with one hand and stood ready to punch him in the face with the other.

"Takumi!" Akira conveyed with shock.

Looking around him, Takumi now also noticed the stunned look of his friends as he continued to clutch Yoshida by the collar. With a feeling and look of regret, Takumi turned and glanced up at Yoshida, only to be met with a grin of contentment.

"I… I'm sorry!" Takumi remorsefully expressed, instantly releasing Yoshida from his grip before bolting off in embarrassment.

"See, what'd I tell you?" Yoshida reiterated. "Crazy."

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Hiromi now angrily stomped over and fiercely slapped Yoshida across the face. "You jerk!" she cried, just before running off after Takumi.

Shaking her head in disgust, Kyoko looked over at Yoshida and expressed, "You really are an asshole, you know that?"

Cutting through the festival crowd and apparently not looking where she was going, Hiromi accidentally bumped into a familiar couple.

"Whoa, watch where you're going," her cousin Yumi's voice came, who was accompanied by her boyfriend, Kenichi.

"S… sorry," Hiromi hurriedly apologized.

"Hiromi?" Yumi was surprised to see. "Are, are you alright? What's wrong, why are you in such a hurry?"

Not wishing to waste time explaining, she simply inquired in a rushed tone, "Did you happen to see which way Takumi-kun went?"

"Uh, yeah," a puzzled Kenichi replied. "I just saw him running up toward the shrine."

"The shrine? Thanks."

"Uh, say, was that you that I just saw slapping Yumi's brother?"

"Sorry, I'll explain later," she hastily responded before rushing back off.

"Huh? Now what do you suppose that was all about?" Kenichi wondered.

"If it involves my idiotic brother, I can only imagine," Yumi seethed as she now came over and confronted Yoshida. "Onii-chan! What have you done this time? So help me if you've done anything to hurt Takumi-san, I'll…"

"Take it easy, sis. I never touched the kid. Besides, I'm the victim here. He's the one who attacked me first, just like last time."

"Yeah, after you provoked him!" Hajime argued. "I can only imagine what you must have whispered in his ear about Akira."

"About me?" a surprised Akira reacted.

"Um, yeah," Hajime uncomfortably informed her. "I'm afraid he's been saying some rather unflattering things about you again."

"Again? What do you…"

Before she could receive clarification on his comment, an incensed Kenichi then chimed in, "Wait, he's been saying things about Akira? That true, Yoshida?"

Terrified at the thought of having to explain himself to the captain of the Kendo club, in addition to Akira, Yoshida stammered, "N… no, uh, that is I…"

Coming directly up to him, Kenichi stared menacingly into his eyes, their noses practically touching, and warned, "Let me tell you something. I don't appreciate you bad-mouthing my star pupil."

"Sempai," Akira softly uttered, moved by her captain's kind remark.

"When you disrespect Akira, you disrespect the entire Kendo club. I swear if you weren't Yumi's brother I'd…"

"Yeah, well, don't let that stop you," Yumi reassured him. "It's high time somebody taught him a lesson."

"SIS! What are you…"

"Come on," Kenichi forcefully said as he grabbed hold of Yoshida's arm.

"Whe… where are we going?" Yoshida frighteningly asked.

"We're going to have a nice little discussion on respecting other people's feelings as well as how to properly behave yourself, because if you don't, then we're going to have a serious problem."

"Yeah, and I won't try to stop him either," Yumi made it clear to him.

"You guys enjoy the rest of your evening," Kenichi bid them as he dragged Yoshida by the arm.

"Hey, come on," Yoshida objected, clearly trying to weasel his way out of his predicament. "I was only kidding. I didn't really mean what I said. Can't you guys take a joke?"

"Just shut up," Kenichi told him.

"Sorry for the trouble that my brother may have caused," Yumi offered, apologetically bowing before catching up with Kenichi and her brother.

"Poor, Yumi," Kyoko lamented, "having to put up with such a jerk of a brother."

"So what exactly was it that he said about me?" Akira curiously asked.

"Oh, ah, it's really not worth repeating," Hajime awkwardly replied rather hesitantly. "He basically just spouted off the same crap that he did last week. That's why I can't blame Takumi for lashing out at him the way he did. I probably would have done the same thing."

"Well I certainly hope so," Kyoko emphatically stated. "If anybody said something like that about me, I'd at least expect you to speak up and defend my honor."

"Aww, come on, you know I would," Hajime reassured her.

"Wait," Akira wanted to clarify, "so are you saying that Takumi was standing up for me when he got into that fight with Yoshida last week?"

Kyoko and Hajime now looked at each other rather dumbfounded upon hearing her inquiry, leading them to draw the same conclusion.

"He didn't tell her," they announced in unison.

"Tell me what?"

Hajime now just shook his head in disbelief, sighing heavily as he quietly uttered under his breath in frustration, "Oh, Takumi, Takumi, Takumi."

* * *

After ascending what seemed like an endless array of steps, which was made all the more difficult for someone wearing a kimono, Hiromi had to stop and catch her breath for a moment when she reached the top of the hill. She was relieved, however, when she finally spied Takumi by the Fuka shrine. Not approaching him just yet, she opted to wait until he had finished hanging his tanzaku, containing his written wish, upon one of the numerous stalks of bamboo that lined the walkway leading up to the shrine.

Slowly approaching him from behind, Hiromi first paused and glanced at the poem that he had written before announcing, "Takumi-kun."

"Uh, Hiromi-san," a startled Takumi reacted.

"Are, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm… fine," he despondently replied. "Just fine."

"Liar. Why did you run off like that?"

"Well, let's just say that I'm not too proud of my actions lately."

Observing the downtrodden look upon his face, Hiromi then took Takumi by the hand, gently tugging at his arm, and proposed, "Come on, let's take a little walk."

Feeling too dejected to raise any objection toward her request, Takumi simply went along with her as she proceeded to lead him by the arm along a stone walkway through the woods until they came upon the ridge of the hill.

Overlooking the academy from one direction, the picturesque view of the mountainous countryside from the other was quite breathtaking.

"Wow, Yumi was right," Hiromi gasped in awe, "the view from here really is breathtaking."

"Yeah, it really is," Takumi acknowledged. "I always like to come up here with Akira and… well, that is I used to."

"And you will again, I'm sure of it," she proclaimed, "and sooner than you think."

"I wish I could be as optimistic as you are," he yearned, letting out a sigh of remorse before apologetically declaring, "Listen, Hiromi-san, I'm really sorry. None of this has been very fair to you, getting caught up in the middle of our little fight. Although, apparently it's not quite as little as I had once thought."

"Oh, Takumi-kun, you mustn't be so hard on yourself. And really, I don't mind."

"Thanks, that's nice of you to say. But I promised that I'd show you a good time tonight, yet instead I run off and abandon you."

"It's okay, really. I…" Hiromi abruptly stopped when her eyes observed that everything had suddenly gone dark down below. "Oh, Takumi-kun, look!"

"Huh?"

"There must have been a power failure," she figured, pointing out how all the lights at the academy had suddenly gone out.

"No, it isn't that," Takumi corrected as he began to explain, "You see, Fuka Academy, along with numerous other regions throughout the country, participates in what's called the 'Tanabata Light Down' initiative. So on this particular night, people agree to turn off all unnecessary lighting after dusk, thereby causing the stars to appear brighter, and also saving energy at the same time."

Sure enough, with the majority of the academy's lights now turned off, along with most of those from the city that usually would be visible from across the bay, the stars in the nighttime sky now stood out quite prominently.

"Wow, I've never seen the stars like this before," a mesmerized Hiromi noted as she continued to gaze upward. "Being from the city with all of its light pollution, I guess I never realized what I was truly missing. It's so beautiful."

"Look, Hiromi-san," Takumi indicated with his hand, "there's the Milky Way. And those two bright stars are Altair and Vega."

"Where?" she excitedly asked, struggling at first to spot them. "Oh yeah, I see them now. So then those are the two stars that represent the fabled star-crossed lovers."

"Yup," Takumi confirmed. "Altair, the one to the west is the cowherd, Hikoboshi, and Vega, just to the east, is the lovely maiden, Akir… uh, I mean, Orihime."

Rather amused by his little slip of the tongue, Hiromi couldn't help but to smile at the now blushing Takumi, causing her to chuckle while observing, "Oh, Takumi-kun, you're so cute."

"Sorry, guess I can't seem to get her off my mind," he admitted. Then, casting his eyes upward and sounding a bit melancholy, he professed, "You know, when I look up at the stars, I like to think that she too might be looking up at them at the exact same moment; it just somehow feels as though she's that much closer to me. And yet, when I reach out my hand… I can't touch her."

"Aww," Hiromi sympathetically cried.

"But even if I can't touch her, I can't help but to believe that there's still something there in our hearts."

"Ooh, Takumi-kun, you're going to make me cry," she sniffled. "That is so sweet."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No, no, it's fine. Honestly, you've got to be one of the sweetest boys I've ever met."

"Uh, thanks."

"You know, when I first moved here, I was afraid that I might have trouble fitting in. But right from the start you helped to ease those fears, welcoming me with open arms and immediately made me feel right at home. So in all fairness, I think it's about time that I returned the favor."

"Really, Hiromi-san, that isn't necessary."

"Oh but it is," she insisted, proceeding to take both his hands in hers, inching closer toward him till he was backed up against a tree. Now standing face to face with him she resolutely added, "And therefore…"

Takumi was at a loss as her head now slowly began to lean in, causing him to nervously stutter, "Hiromi-san, wha… what are you…"

"I'm going to make your wish come true," she softly whispered into his ear.

"My, my wish?" Takumi gulped.

"Of course," she stated, now taking a step back. "It's the least I can do for all the trouble I've caused you."

"I… I don't understand."

"Oh, you will. Now just promise me that you'll wait right here, okay?"

"Uh, su… sure," he stammered, not knowing what to make of the mixed signals she seemed to be sending.

"Great!" she happily replied as she then turned and prepared to depart. Hesitating for a moment, she then turned back around to face him again and commented, "You know, even though your heart belongs to someone else, I'm really glad that I got to know you."

Caught unawares, Takumi suddenly felt Hiromi's warm lips brush up against his cheek momentarily. "I really hope everything works out for you," she caringly wished him. Amusingly looking on at his stunned expression, Hiromi then simply announced, "Well, guess I'll see you around. Good night, Takumi-kun."

Watching as she now made her way back up the stone walkway, Takumi just smiled as he reflected upon her kindheartedness.

"Thank you, Hiromi-san," he quietly uttered under his breath.

* * *

"I don't get it, Akira-san," Wataru tried to comprehend. "Why did you guys allow this argument to escalate to this point? I mean, from what you all have told me, the whole thing seems so petty."

"Because they're both stubborn," Hajime pointed out as he finished hanging his tanzaku onto one of the bamboo stalks in front of the shrine.

"Hey, I'm not the one who was being stubborn," Akira argued. "Maybe if he had told me in the first place that the fight was over something Yoshida had said about me, I would have understood."

"But did you ever really ask him to explain," Hajime posed the question, "or give him a chance for that matter?"

Akira had no answer, for she knew that he was right.

"So why do you suppose Takumi-san chose not to tell her what the fight was over?" Wataru questioned.

"That's because he wanted to spare Akira's feelings," Hajime replied, "figuring it best not to repeat Yoshida's cruel insults."

"That's our Takumi for ya," Kyoko chimed in, "sincere to a fault."

"Don't forget loving and caring," Hiromi added, now rejoining the four.

"Hiromi-chan!" Kyoko was glad to see. "Did you manage to find Takumi?"

"I did. He's under a tree just beyond the clearing, and we had a nice little talk."

"How, how is he?" Akira asked somewhat apprehensively.

"He's holding up okay, considering the circumstances."

"Oh. So ah, what exactly did you two talk ab…"

"Wait, before you say anything else," Hiromi interrupted, sounding a bit defensive, "I think there's something we need to clear up."

"Uh, okay."

"Now I realize we got off to a bad start and that you probably don't like me very much, but I give you my word that there's nothing going on between me and Takumi-kun. I would never try to…"

"I, I know," Akira remorsefully replied. "Hajime already explained everything to me."

"He did?"

"Yes. And I realize now that he was just being his usual courteous self in trying to make you feel welcome." Swallowing her pride, Akira then deeply bowed before her and apologetically offered, "I'm… sorry, Hiromi-san. I jumped to conclusions and in the process said some very unflattering things about you. I'm really sorry."

"Oh, no, it, it's fine, really," Hiromi reassured her. "Don't worry about it, I understand perfectly. I'm just glad that you're not upset with me anymore. After all, if he were my boyfriend, I probably would have acted the same way. But of course, he's not. In fact, from what I've been able to gather from talking with him is that he's a one girl kind of guy. Why do you know that while we were talking, even when the conversation wasn't about you, your name still somehow managed to slip off his lips. So you see, Akira-san, you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"She's right you know," Hajime concurred. "In fact, he did the same exact thing earlier this evening while we were talking. You're all he seems to think about. So if that's not devotion I don't know what is."

"Thanks, you guys," a rather relieved Akira gratefully replied. "It means a lot to hear you say that."

"Akira-san," Hiromi began to motion with her hands, "there's something I think you should see."

Leading her and the others over to one of the many bamboo stalks along the shrine's walkway, Hiromi then pointed to one particular strip of tanzaku hanging amongst the numerous others.

Immediately recognizing the handwriting as that of Takumi, Akira, along with Hajime, Kyoko and Wataru, began to read his rather heart wrenching aspiration.

_Though my foolish pride and white lies were serious blunders_

_I was blind to the fact that it could tear us asunder_

_And while my arms no longer hold you since we're apart_

_I shall forever hold the love we once had close to my heart_

_So the tears I now shed are because you're so far_

_Causing me to hopelessly wish upon a distant star_

Observing Akira's quite emotional reaction as she quickly rubbed a finger along her eyes in an attempt to conceal her tears, Hiromi then seriously stated, "You'd have to be pretty disheartened to write something like that, and from what I've witnessed, that boy is completely heartbroken."

"He's miserable without you," Hajime added. "Trust me, I can personally attest to that."

"And on a night intended for lovers," Hiromi noted, "he's sitting under some tree looking up at the stars… alone! Now where I come from that just ain't right."

"Akira-san," a concerned Wataru then began to point out, "you're the only one who can make his wish come true. And deep down, I know you desperately seek the same thing."

"Wataru," a deeply moved Akira replied. "Listen, there's something you need to know. I'm afraid that I used you for my own selfish gains as a way to get back at Takumi."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that," he confessed. Then with a rather weak laugh he added, "But then, it was kind of silly of me to even think that I could ever hope to replace him in your heart."

"Aww, Wataru-kun," Hiromi compassionately reacted.

"I'm really sorry," Akira remorsefully stated. "I feel terrible for what I've done."

"Hey, don't worry about it," he tried to reassure her. "Besides, it's better this way; better for you, and certainly better for Takumi-san."

"But, what about you?"

"I told you, don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"You sure seem to be taking this well," Hajime noted.

"Hey, despite everything, I still had a good time," Wataru cheerfully pointed out.

"Thank you, Wataru-san," Akira graciously replied.

"No problem. Say listen, you'd better get going. After all, you should never keep someone who's mending a broken heart waiting too long."

A very appreciative Akira nodded, acknowledging him. Then, reaching between a fold within her obi, she pulled out a small charm with a strap hanging from it.

"I suppose I should return this to you," she reckoned, proceeding to hand him the cell phone charm that he had won for her earlier in a game of chance. "It wouldn't be right for me to keep it, plus it would probably make Takumi feel a bit uncomfortable."

"I understand," Wataru clearly grasped as he received it from her.

Leaning in and giving Wataru a quick peck on the cheek, Akira then amiably remarked, "Watarua-san, you're a true gentleman. I'm sure you'll make some girl very happy someday."

As she hurriedly ran off, a stunned Wataru just stood with a hand up against his cheek.

"First kiss, huh?" Hajime teased, playfully jabbing Wataru in the side with his elbow.

"Uh, well I… That is to say…"

"Oh, Hajime, leave him alone," Kyoko scolded.

"Well uh, I guess I'll be going," Wataru nervously announced. "It's getting kind of late."

"Uh, yeah," Hiromi subsequently agreed as the two then began to go their separate ways. "See you guys later."

Shocked at the scenario that was playing out before her, and unwilling to let the little indiscretion pass, forced Kyoko to loudly proclaim, "Alright you two, freeze!"

"Something wrong, Kyoko?" Hajime asked.

"I'll say there is. Honestly, do I have to do everything?" she incredulously remarked.

"Yah!" a startled Wataru cried as Kyoko grabbed him by the arm and forcibly pulled him over toward Hiromi. "Ah, Kyoko-sempai!"

"Humph! Some gentleman you are," Kyoko said in disgust. "I do hope you weren't planning on letting Hiromi-chan walk home all by herself, now were you?"

"Uh, n… no, of course not."

"Glad to hear it. So, as your senior, I must insist that you escort the young lady safely back to her dorm room." Turning then to Hiromi for her approval she inquired, "You don't mind, do you?"

"Why no," Hiromi seemed rather happy to oblige, "not at all."

"Good, then it's settled," Kyoko complacently said as she then took hold of each of their hands and persuasively joined the two together, causing them both to blush profusely.

Hajime, meanwhile, seemed dumbfounded at his meddlesome girlfriend's antics. While not interfering, he still looked directly at her and silently mouthed, "What are you doing?"

Kyoko merely shot him a devious grin, pretty much indicating for him not to interfere with her little matchmaking scheme.

"Oh, one other thing, Wataru-san. I want you to escort her home," Kyoko subtly added, discreetly shoving two five hundred yen coins into his hand, "by way of the coffee shop."

Stunned at her generosity, Wataru exclaimed, "Uh, Kyoko-sempai, this is…"

"Call it a small investment into your futures," she slyly hinted to him in a faint whisper. Immediately thereafter she turned back to Hiromi and suggested, "Oh, Hiromi-chan, there's this one latte that you've just got to try. It's called a Peppermint Mocha Trio."

"Mmm, sounds delicious."

"Believe me, it's to die for. Oh, then there's also…"

While Kyoko continued to praise the merits of the shops various lattes, Hajime happened to catch a closer glimpse of the cell phone charm that Wataru was holding. Thinking back for a moment, he then surreptitiously signaled to him, "Pssst, hey, Wataru-san."

"What's up?"

"Listen, when you get to the coffee shop, I want you to…"

After whispering the remainder of his idea into Wataru's ear, Hajime had a most satisfied look about him.

"Are you sure?" Wataru questioned.

"Trust me. I have it on the best authority that she'll love it. Plus it'll help break the ice and make a great conversation starter."

"Really? Thanks, Hajime-san."

"Don't mention it."

"You ready to go, Wataru-kun?" Hiromi asked.

"Huh? Oh, ah, yeah."

As they began to leave, Wataru was somewhat startled, yet pleasantly surprised, when Hiromi took him by the hand, only this time without being prodded by Kyoko.

"Bye, you two lovebirds," Kyoko audaciously called out to them. "Try not to keep him out too late past his bedtime, Hiromi-chan."

"Kyoko!" Hajime scolded. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I was merely helping along a budding romance."

"Hmmm," he skeptically stared at her with his arms folded.

"Oh, come on, don't act so shocked. And besides, I saw you whispering something to Wataru-san. What was that all about?"

"Well, uh," he stammered, "since you had already stuck your nose into their affairs, I figured I might as well give the kid a few pointers. You know, to give him a fighting chance."

"Oh yeah? What kind of pointers?"

"I told him to give Hiromi-san that 'Negima' cell phone charm once they get to the coffee shop, because I happen to know that she likes that particular anime series."

"Really. So now who's sticking his nose into their affairs?" she brashly accused. "And by the way, how exactly would you happen to know what types of anime she likes, hmmmm?"

"Oh darn it, you caught me," Hajime lightheartedly responded, attempting to keep a straight face."

"Uh huh," Kyoko suspiciously said with her arms folded. "Come on, out with it."

"Well you see, darling, it was a chance meeting at an anime convention last year. We were both going through the same bin of used anime when our hands suddenly happened upon the same title. We looked up, staring intently into each other's eyes, and declared our undying love for our favorite anime and manga series. Well, one thing led to another and…" Hesitating, Hajime then teasingly revealed, "You know, now that I think about it, I think it actually may have been at the club last week when I happened to overhear her telling Takumi about her favorite series. Yeah, I'm sure that was it. But you got to admit, my original explanation sure sounded better."

"Very funny," she annoyingly replied, not seeming too amused. "Think you're pretty cute, don't you?"

Now proceeding to wrap his arms around her waist he declared, "Not half as cute as you, my dear."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she stubbornly replied, turning her head off to the side to avoid his advances, then playfully remarked, "You know, I'm beginning to think you might have a thing for her. You are both otaku after all."

"Hmmm, do I detect a hint of jealousy?"

"Certainly not," she adamantly denied.

"Come on, I swear to you that I never went anywhere near her… manga," he suggestively stated as he pulled her in closer, her breasts now tightly pressed up against his body while their lips then passionately began to engulf one another.

* * *

Approaching the clearing, Akira anxiously began to scan the area. In addition to the Astronomy Club, which had several telescopes set up for any interested stargazers, she also spied several couples scattered along the edge of the hill, most of whom had their eyes fixated on their partner as opposed to the constellation. Eventually, she spotted Takumi sitting under a lone maple tree, resting his eyelids.

She couldn't help but smile when she observed the tranquil expression upon his face as she stood before him. Not wishing to wake him just yet, Akira simply leaned up against the tree alongside him.

"Incredible," Akira finally articulated. "Tanabata only comes around once a year and you decide to sleep through it."

"A... Akira," Takumi startlingly reacted, abruptly coming out of his slumber and then promptly sitting up.

"No, no, don't get up," she advised. "Hiromi-san told me that I'd be able to find you here. Mind if I join you?"

"Uh, no, of course not."

Gently sliding her body down along the edge of the tree so that she was now seated perpendicular to him, Akira then inquired, "So ah, how you holding up?"

"Good! I'm… doing good," he hesitantly replied, following up by quietly uttering, "Although I'm actually doing a lot better now that you're here."

"Well that's good," she was glad to hear. Then, in a more serious tone added, "Anyway, I really need to talk to you about, well, us. I think it's time we put an end to it."

"What?" Takumi was shocked to hear. "No! Akira, you can't mean that!"

"Well of course I mean it. What, are you telling me that you want to keep this fight going?"

"Fight?" Takumi suddenly then realized. "Oh, oh, our fight," he said breathing a sigh of relief. "You meant put an end to our fight, not… uh, never mind."

Raising her arm, Akira then lightly bonked Takumi on the head with her fist. "Idiot!"

"I deserved that," he admitted as he rubbed the top of his head. "Listen, Akira, I'm really sorry about the way I acted back there, I…"

"Okay, Takumi, stop. I think you've done enough apologizing. I've already got a clear picture of what happened after hearing explanations from both you and Hajime. And you know, the more I think about it, the angrier I become at myself for allowing this to drag on for so long."

"But, you didn't do anything wrong. This whole mess wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been so stupid and lied to you."

True, but at least I know that it wasn't intentional. You panicked, I get it; it's no big deal. In fact, when you finally did tell me what had happened, I was all ready to forgive you right then and there until…"

"Hiromi-san showed up?"

"Yeah," she despondently remarked, not seeming too proud of herself. "I was basically the one who freaked out that time and wound up saying some really nasty things about her. In short, I was a total bitch to her."

"A… Akira," Takumi expressed, quite taken aback by her harsh denunciation of herself.

"Well it's true. I mean, when she first showed up and I saw how friendly and jovial she was around you, I started jumping to all sorts of wild conclusions; my jealous nature just basically started taking over. I've already apologized to her, but I'm still pretty upset with myself for behaving like that."

"Don't worry about it, really," he tried to reassure her. "You were perfectly justified for feeling that way. And of course I didn't exactly help matters any, especially after I started giving her my bento lunches in the beginning. I was basically just throwing more fuel on the fire."

"Still, this isn't exactly the first time that I've allowed my jealous temperament to get out of control. It's definitely not healthy."

"Yes, but you know, not all forms of jealousy are unhealthy in a relationship. In fact, they say that jealousy is usually displayed as a means to guard your territory. So in that sense, I guess I should be flattered."

Glancing over at her with an appreciative grin on his face, a flustered Akira then quickly turned her head off to the side.

"Although," he continued, "we obviously took this a bit too far. And then we had to go and drag Hiromi and Wataru-san into it in a foolish attempt to make one another jealous. Man, are we pathetic or what?"

"You'll get no argument from me on that," she unmistakably concurred. "I'm just glad that those two were both so understanding and forgiving."

"Yeah. And I'm also glad that you intervened when you did back there, stopping Yoshida I mean, otherwise Hiromi-san might have gotten hurt because of my stupidity."

"Speaking of which," Akira recollected, sounding somewhat annoyed as she then rose to her feet and stood directly before him, "why didn't you just tell me right from the start what it was that Yoshida had said about me? So all this time your fight with him was an attempt to defend my honor, not that I approve of that sort of macho bull crap, but still, I would have understood and we might have avoided this entire fiasco."

Feebly staring up at her angry expression, Takumi was only able to remorsefully utter, "Sorry."

"Damn it, Takumi, were you afraid that I might get my feelings hurt?"

"Well I…"

"You know what your problem is? You're too nice! And what happened earlier is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. You didn't hesitate for one second, opting to put yourself in harm's way in order to shield Hiromi-san from Yoshida's attack. Why do you always have to be so damn chivalrous? You know, that's just like you; always thinking of others, never yourself. And yet…"

Becoming quite emotional by this point, Akira was forced to turn her back to Takumi in an attempt to conceal the tears that were beginning to build up within her.

"A… Akira?"

"And yet," she sniffled, "I don't ever want that to change, because… that's just one of the many qualities about you that caused me to fall in love with you."

Coming up from behind and enveloping his arms firmly around her waist, Akira was all at once at ease when she felt the warmth of Takumi's cheek caressing hers, his head now resting upon her shoulder.

"You don't ever have to worry about that," he softly whispered, "because my love for you could never change."

Taking out a handkerchief, Takumi then proceeded to gently dab the tears from her eyes.

"You see, it's little things like that," she happily cried, turning back around to face him. "It's like you're the Galahad of the Arthurian knights; so noble and pure of heart."

"Knight, huh?" he said with amusement.

"It's no wonder girls are always fawning over you."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Yeah, right," she skeptically replied. "You'd have to be blind to not notice something like that."

"I am."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I mean I'm blind to all other girls, because in my eyes," he indicated, now getting down on one knee and taking a hold of her hand, "I see only you, my lady."

Touched by the lovely, albeit corny, sentiment, Akira attempted to restrain herself, not wishing to give him any satisfaction just yet, folding her arms as she then gave him a rather cynical look.

"Why Takumi, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were trying to sweet talk me into forgiving you."

"Uh, no, I ah…"

"Well you're going to have to do a lot better than that if you think that you can just use your charm and good looks to weasel your way out of this."

Taking her words rather seriously, Takumi, still kneeling before her, helplessly looked up at her and apologetically offered, "I'm sorry, Akira, but I really wasn't trying to…"

"Oh would you please stop apologizing already. I keep telling you that you're too polite. You know sometimes you just have to throw proper etiquette out the window and just take what you want."

Catching him totally unawares, Akira, unable to hold herself back any longer, threw herself on top of Takumi, knocking him flat to the ground.

"Mmmmph!" he startlingly reacted as her lips practically swallowed up his. Immediately reciprocating the passionate sentiment, he pleasantly expressed, "Ooh, Akira."

"Ooooo!" she moaned, letting up momentarily and confessing, "You have no idea how much I've missed this."

"Mmmm, likewise."

Rolling over onto her side, her breathing somewhat labored, Akira now stared up at the nighttime sky through an opening of the tree's overhanging branches. Reflecting back over the past week's events, she opined, "Man, this had to be one of the worst weeks of my life. I still can't believe we allowed this stupid argument to escalate to the point that it did. I'm just glad that it's finally all over with."

"Yeah. But I gotta tell you," Takumi confessed, "as the days passed and with no apparent resolution in sight, I became frightened; I honestly thought that I might actually lose you. I tell you, this really made me think and take a long hard look at what's truly important in my life."

Rolling onto his side and looking her directly in the eyes, Takumi slowly began to bring a hand up to her face, caressing it ever so gently.

"Takumi."

"I'm sorry for putting you through this."

"Oh, let's just promise each other that we'll never fight like that again," Akira tearfully suggested.

Rolling back over onto his back, Takumi focused his eyes directly upward and, with a more serious look about him, professed, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Akira."

"Wh… what do you mean?"

"Well, for one thing, I'd be lying if I did. I mean, who's to say what other types of disagreements we may have in the future. In fact, I'd have to say that it's pretty much inevitable."

"Wait," Akira tried to comprehend, now sitting up and looking to him with a rather worried expression. "So are you saying that there's no hope for us, that we're destined to continue having these types of horrific fights?"

"No, no, you misunderstand. What I'm trying to say is that an occasional disagreement from time to time is perfectly normal in a healthy relationship, so long as the couple involved is able to talk things out in a calm and rational manner. Now granted, yelling and screaming serves no meaningful purpose, and in the end only creates tension, so we'd be wise to keep that in mind for future reference."

"Still, I really don't want to have to go through something like that again."

"And there's a pretty good chance that we probably won't," he reassured her. "The point is we managed to get through this because we were finally able to talk things out with each other. And of course having good friends, like Hajime and Kyoko, to knock some common sense into us helped a great deal too. You know some couples would have broken up over lesser things, but we didn't. We stuck it out and in the end endured, and do you know why?"

"Actually, I do," Akira finally comprehended, rolling back over so that she was now lying directly on top of Takumi. "It's because our love for each other is too strong to ever be broken up by some petty argument."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Takumi smilingly said as he began to wrap his arms around her. "You know what the best part of a fight is, don't you?"

"Making up?" she surmised.

"Making out," he corrected, now resuming where they had previously left off.

Oblivious to their surroundings, the two continued to maintain their carefree displays of affection for one another, their bodies fervently engaged while spread out beneath the majestic maple.

"I think they have them set up over here," Hajime's voice came from off in the distance, approaching the clearing while walking hand in hand with Kyoko.

"You know I've never viewed the stars through a telescope before," Kyoko confessed, "and I'm really anxious to see Vega and Altair close up."

"Well this should give us a really great view of…"

Stopping dead in their tracks as they came upon the maple, Hajime and Kyoko then both turned to each other, their initial expression of shock quickly changing to one of delight.

"Forget the telescope," Hajime gleefully remarked. "We've got a front row view of an even more interesting pair of star-crossed lovers right here."

"Uh, A… Akira," Takumi managed to verbalize, attempting to get Akira's attention who didn't seem quite ready to relinquish her possession of his lips. "Ha… Hajime and... mmmm, Akira… uh, I mean Kyoko are here."

"So, let them find their own tree," she let up long enough to convey to him.

"Hajime," Kyoko urged, "we should probably go."

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed as a wicked grin then came over his face, prompting him to remark, "but at least they have the right idea. Maybe we should follow their example."

"Hajime, you're bad," Kyoko lightheartedly admonished, "but for once I agree with you."

"Well, in that case…" Hajime began, extending his elbow out to her as an invitation to join him. "Shall we?"

Just as they started to walk off, ready to give the two their privacy, Takumi finally sat up and called out, "Hey!"

Stopping and directing their attention back toward them, Takumi then gratefully expressed, "Thanks, you guys."

Shooting him a complacent grin, "Hajime then wittily warned, "Hey, you just make sure you hang on to her this time. I don't want to have to keep bailing you out."

"Not to worry," Takumi expressed, pulling Akira tightly in toward him, "because I have no intention of ever letting her go."

"Glad to hear it."

"I owe you big time, Hajime," Takumi professed. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah," he modestly replied. "Save your appreciation for my stomach, say in the form of a beef sukiyaki bento on Monday."

"Hahaha, you got it my friend," an amused Takumi resolutely agreed. "So would you prefer cabbage with that or… Whoa!"

Growing rather impatient, Akira grabbed Takumi by the arm and forcefully yanked him back down so that he was lying beside her once again.

"Sorry, Hajime," Akira offered, "he's kind of busy right now. He'll have to get back to you later on that. Right now there's something else that requires his complete and undivided attention: Me!"

"Heh, heh," Hajime chuckled. "Lucky dog."

"Come on, Hajime," Kyoko prodded, "I think they'd like to be alone."

"Of that I'm sure. Well, see you guys later."

Taking their leave of them, Hajime and Kyoko made their way over toward the scenic overlook, pausing when they came upon a fence that lined the edge of the hill.

Leaning against it and taking in the breathtaking view of the constellation, Hajime reflected, "Man, what a great night. There may be something to this Tanabata legend after all. Takumi and Akira are back together again, and it looks like there might be something developing between Wataru and Hiromi-san. Overall, a very fulfilling evening."

"I'm proud of you, Hajime," Kyoko affectionately expressed, giving him a tender kiss upon the cheek as she stood alongside him. "You really stuck by Takumi when he needed you the most and helped out tremendously in getting them back together."

"Well, I can't take all the credit," he humbly replied. "What about you? That little matchmaking scheme of yours between Wataru and Hiromi-san may just bear fruit. So it looks like we're two for two since we've now got two very happy and satisfied couples. Not bad, huh? We should think about becoming marriage counselors."

"Well as long as we're on a roll," she began to suggest, "why not try and make it three for three?"

"Three? Well what other couple do we know that might need our help?"

"No silly, I'm talking about us."

"Us?"

"Of course. After all, we deserve to be a happy and satisfied couple too. Right?"

Coming together and embracing each other, their heads now resting on each other's shoulders, Hajime approvingly responded, "Mmm, you got that right."

He was completely caught off guard, however, when Kyoko sensually and suggestively whispered into his ear, "So how about it, Hajime, would you like me to… satisfy you?"

"Uhh…" he nervously gulped.

Looking out over her shoulder as they continued to cuddle, Hajime's initial stunned expression quickly changed to one of immense pleasure, prompting him to cast his eyes upward to two very particular and prominent stars in the nighttime sky and silently mouth, "Thank you."


End file.
